Celestial Spirit Magic

This world had all eighty-eight constellations, exactly like Earth's. Aibo had been rather surprised by this at first, but then he thought that even something like transmigration existed, so he did not dwell on it.

The eighty-eight constellations naturally corresponded to eighty-eight Celestial Spirits. Among them, the twelve zodiac signs had twelve unique golden keys, while the other seventy-six types had multiple silver keys. These keys connected to the Celestial Spirits living in the Celestial Spirit World, forming the system of Celestial Spirit Magic.

Because of their uniqueness, the zodiac keys were relatively rare. However, the silver keys of the other seventy-six constellations varied greatly in the abilities of the Celestial Spirits they summoned, so they were not especially valuable. Sometimes, they could even be bought in magic shops.

Aibo planned to try his luck at the shops in town, so he accompanied Cana on a long-overdue shopping trip.

Magnolia was considered a fairly famous city in the Fiore Kingdom, and its fame came from Fairy Tail.

But Fairy Tail was both its making and its ruin. The people willing to remain in this city were mostly big-hearted enough to tolerate the guild's antics, while those who could not stand it had naturally 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 had actually considered developing Magnolia. If the city prospered, the guild would benefit as well. But for the time being, his abilities were insufficient, and he had not figured out how to go about it.

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

"Aibo, Aibo, how about your big sister buys you some new clothes? You've grown quite a bit this past year."

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

"Hehe, then let me pick them out for you~ Leave everything to your big sister!"

"Okay. Thanks, Sister Cana."

Aibo was actually someone with fairly little material desire. He cared more about spiritual fulfillment, and he tended to be quite lazy about things he did not care much about.

As long as food was edible, that was enough. As long as clothes could be worn, that was enough. He knew he could invest 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 few outfits over and over.

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

More than the new clothes Cana bought for him, he was happier about the fact that "someone was willing to buy him clothes."

Yes, the thought mattered more than the gift. That was what Aibo believed.

After circling the shopping district several times, they had bought quite a few bags of things. If not for his Level 2 Space Magic, which could open a small portable 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 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 magical craft. In this world, it occupied a niche similar to magic scrolls and was often used by mages for trade.

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

After all, someone as stubborn as her—someone who did not even want to burden her own biological father—would never accept the church's help with peace of mind.

Cana had been six years old, just like Aibo, when she came to Fairy Tail. Back then, she could not take on many requests, so from the very beginning, when choosing what magic to learn, she had needed to consider how to support herself as quickly as possible.

Cana had always done well over the years. Not only had she paid off her own debts, but she often donated money to the church and bought food for the children at the orphanage. 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 his big sister. Card Magic did not truly match her talent.

Damn that Gildarts!

"We do have Celestial Spirit Keys in our shop, and 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 twenty thousand Jewels, Lepus is fifty thousand, and Pegasus is two hundred thousand. Since it's Cana, I can give you a ten percent discount."

Hearing how cheap they were, Aibo grandly waved his hand.

"I'll buy 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.

In Magnolia, getting anywhere was only a matter of a thought for him. His teleportation could even take others with him, but Aibo would not use magic just to save a little time while strolling down the street with a girl.

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

"Hehe, little Aibo really loves learning all sorts of magic. You already have the air of a scholar at such a young age. You'll definitely become an amazing mage someday!"

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

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

"And most mages think it is enough as long as they know how to use magic. Very few people investigate it as thoroughly as you do, Aibo."

Well, that's because I have a cheat. As long as I read and study 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 experienced the pain of being unable to learn magic.

And once I've learned magic, looking back at its basic principles creates the illusion that it was simple all along.

That was why Aibo, who had learned a huge amount of magic, possessed astonishing foundations in magical theory. And that rich accumulation of knowledge, in turn, accelerated the experience he gained when learning magic.

Because he had this sort of snowballing learning method—like stepping on his own feet to spiral into the sky—Aibo had always found learning magic to be a joyful thing. The positive feedback was simply too strong.

"Eh? I always thought everyone only learned one or two kinds of magic because they lacked the energy. Learning magic is actually difficult?"

An angry-vein symbol popped up over Cana's head.

"...Even if it's you, Aibo, you need to be prepared to get beaten for saying something that outrageous!"

"Sorry, my mistake... In that case, I'll create a type of Summoning Magic that even you can learn easily, Sister Cana."

Cana froze, then suddenly grabbed Aibo by both shoulders in surprise.

"Huh? Wait? Are you saying that you're learning Celestial Spirit Magic because you want to create a new type of 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 too 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.

Well, as long as Cana was happy.