Lesser Spirits

"No."

Rem's answer came without a moment's hesitation.

"Ehh?! You're that sure?! Isn't there an option where you set a few conditions and we talk it over?" Subaru leaned halfway forward, unwilling to give up.

"There's no place in the village to stable a Ground Dragon. Besides, with what you earn now, you can't even afford to rent a house, let alone build a stable for a Ground Dragon."

"...Well, I can let it live with me! My little cabin might be shabby, but there's room for us to sleep if we squeeze in! And I'll make sure to clean up after this little one, too!"

Subaru racked his brains for every argument he could use.

"What about feed, then? Do you expect it to stay with you and still go out and find its own food? Oni and humans have completely different diets from Ground Dragons."

Subaru opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Are you sure you're really capable of taking responsibility for this Ground Dragon?"

Rem's questions came one after another, like buckets of cold water dousing every last bit of Subaru's enthusiasm.

He came back to his senses, too. With his current means, he was already doing everything he could just to take care of himself, let alone raise a Ground Dragon.

Subaru looked at the young dragon, reluctant to part with it. The young dragon gazed back at him gently.

Standing nearby, Rem looked at Subaru, then at the young dragon. Unable to bear it any longer, she spoke up.

"Why are you so reluctant to part with a Ground Dragon you've only just met? Even if this little one is grateful to you for treating its injuries, are you sure it's willing to go with you?"

"I'm sure. However you look at it, this little one really likes me, right?"

Subaru gently stroked the smooth scales on the young dragon's forehead. "Why am I so reluctant to part with it...? Probably because it was love at first sight."

That was how Subaru thought best described the situation. But when Rem heard him, her already aloof face took on an even more speechless expression.

"Doesn't that just mean you got carried away because it's good-looking?"

The Ground Dragon seemed to understand where their conversation was going. It considerately rubbed its forehead against Subaru's palm once more, then slowly turned around and began walking deeper into the forest.

One step, then a look back. Another step, another look back. It turned its head so often that it hardly looked as though it intended to leave at all.

Its actions made it clear that it would wait here.

"...That Ground Dragon doesn't seem as clever as it looks." Rem had evidently seen through the young dragon's intentions as well, and couldn't resist the remark.

"Don't say that, Rem-chan. Loyal animal characters are really charming, you know." Subaru stood up, a soothed warmth in his smile.

But he soon put away his smile. "Come to think of it, though, how did that little one hurt its leg?"

He recalled the marks he had seen while cleaning the wound. They hadn't looked like scratches or bite marks. "Rather than a Witchbeast attack, it looked more like a burn... Can Witchbeasts use magic too?"

"There are Witchbeasts that can use magic. But Witchbeasts of that level generally don't appear around the village." As Rem spoke, she raised a hand and pointed in a certain direction. "The reason the Ground Dragon was hurt is probably over there. I can smell Lesser Spirits."

"Lesser Spirits? Spirits? There are spirits here?!"

Subaru's eyes lit up at once. Long-lived spirits with pointed ears, a love of nature, and the ability to communicate with animals-they were a hugely popular part of otherworld settings!

He set aside his sadness at parting with the young dragon for the moment and strode eagerly in the direction Rem had pointed. He pushed aside a thicket of low bushes and saw the following sight.

There were many little glowing orbs floating in midair. Red, yellow, blue, and white, each color glowed softly as they drifted slowly through the air, their light flickering.

"So many colors... Those fireflies are huge! Do fireflies come out during the day in this place?"

"Those are Lesser Spirits."

Rem's correction came from behind him.

"Huh?" Subaru froze and pointed at the orbs of light right in front of him. "These little glowing balls... are spirits? They're completely different from what I imagined."

"I said they were Lesser Spirits. Real spirits don't appear in places like this."

Rem sounded as though she were giving a student remedial lessons.

"Even if these Lesser Spirits can grow into real spirits someday, that won't be for another hundred years. By then, you, Rem included, will have died of old age long ago."

"I see. They look completely different, but they kept the long lifespan." Subaru nodded thoughtfully, watching the floating orbs of light as he asked, "But what are they doing? Just drifting around like that?"

"The way Lesser Spirits survive is a lot like the state Oni are in when they fight."

"They gather together and absorb the Mana floating freely in the air to sustain their existence while slowly building up power. The more they absorb, the more likely they are to evolve into real spirits someday."

"I see, I see. You're really kind, Rem-chan! No matter what I ask, you can answer me right away."

"...It was just because the opportunity came up."

Rem quickly turned her head away. "Rem just finds it troublesome how you look so foolish and don't know anything."

Subaru responded to that textbook tsundere statement with a knowing smile, then turned his attention back to the Lesser Spirits floating among the bushes.

"Huh?" His gaze suddenly settled on the edge of the group. "Why is that Lesser Spirit being left out?"

It was a point of red light. Of all the glowing orbs, its color was the most vivid, like a tiny drop of liquid fire suspended in the air.

But it was quite far from the group of Lesser Spirits. Whenever it tried to approach, the entire group began shaking violently, as though issuing some kind of silent warning.

The red Lesser Spirit stopped and hovered for a moment, then silently retreated to its original distance.

"Rem doesn't know either. Perhaps it's some habit of the Lesser Spirits."

As Rem spoke, she reached out and tugged on Subaru's sleeve. "Also, it's time to go back to work. Don't get too close to those Lesser Spirits when Rem isn't around. They generally don't like strangers, and if you approach them carelessly, they'll attack you with Mana of various attributes. That's probably how the Ground Dragon got hurt."