Kays Translations

Chapter 30: Contract

Even though I thought making a contract with the snow Princess would resolve everything, it wasn't as simple as that.

Considering the situation, I had to talk to my father and Renji-san about it.

However, my father was relatively accepting of it.

I explained what happened to the snow Princess and the contract, and he just nodded and said, "Understood," and that was the end of it.

I wondered if it was really that easy, but I suppose my father trusted that I wasn't lying.

But the real problem was Renji-san.

He was worried that the snow Princess might harm Aya-chan, so he kept questioning the snow Princess endlessly.

Well, calling it a "problem" is a strange way to put it.

After all, Renji-san was the more reasonable one here.

He spent about two or three hours talking to the snow Princess, who had switched places with Aya-chan.

I was in the same room with Renji-san until halfway through, but then Shirayuki-sensei said she needed to create the "Contract Circle" and went to another room, so I followed her. That's why I didn't hear the entire conversation properly.

However, after Shirayuki-sensei created the Contract Circle and I returned to the room, I saw Renji-san and Aya-chan talking with smiles on their faces. I could guess that they had concluded that it was fine to make the contract as long as it ensured not hurting people.

Well, it seems like we have to find some kind of compromise.

By the way, can the snow Princess come out of Aya-chan's body?

If I get the chance, I'll ask about it.

As I faced Aya-chan, I thought about that.

On the other hand, Shirayuki-sensei, who was beside me, had just finished making the "Contract Circle" and was placing it on the table, asking Renji-san to review the contract text.

The way she made the Contract Circle was quite interesting.

Surprisingly, she used ink made from squid ink to write the text. Squid ink, as in the ink used in calligraphy.

I heard that they have calligraphy classes in elementary school nowadays, starting from the third grade. So, it had been quite a while since I last saw ink. It's been since middle school in my previous life. It's been so long.

She grinded the ink with a grinding stone for ink while infusing it little by little with magic using guiding thread silvate. That's how she made ink infused with magic.

Then, she wrote the text and drew some unclear patterns at the bottom of the paper.

Those unclear patterns were geometrical shapes, somewhat resembling a magic circle.

In the end, those patterns were filled with the magic power of the contractee, in this case, the snow Princess, to create a "Resonance."

I thought it was convenient, but it was indeed time-consuming to prepare. It's understandable why contract magic had fallen out of use; it's not a magic that directly helps in exorcising monsters.

While Renji-san was reading the contract text, my father, who was beside me, murmured something.

"Strange things do happen."

"What's the matter?"

"It's about the snow Princess."

"Hmm...?"

I tilted my head, not understanding what my father meant, and he gently explained.

"Those who continue come in contact with monsters become generates. Such individuals must be exorcised, before they resort to killing someone."

"...I see."

I had heard about that when I saved Hina.

It's harsh, but when you're trying to help as many people as possible as an exorcist... how much of the story of a person who turned into a monster should you listen to? I don't know. It's a complicated matter.

That's why I can understand why some exorcists don't listen to the words of those who turned into monsters and just exorcise them.

If you make one mistake, you’ll die, it's your life on the line.

"However, according to what we've heard so far, the snow Princess probably didn't kill anyone until she met an exorcist."

"Yeah, she didn't kill anyone."

I can still vividly remember that.

The insatiable hunger she felt when she faced people, and her strong will to suppress it.

"Such a monster... I've only heard about them in legends. And now, she makes a contract with humans to protect a child. It's like something out of a fairy tale."

"...Yeah."

"I would like to hope that all monsters could be like that, but that's probably impossible."

"Yeah, you're right."

I nodded in agreement with my father's ideal.

It's too idealistic to think that other monsters can understand and be understood like the snow Princess. There are probably no monsters who can communicate like her, and even fewer who have the self-restraint not to harm people.

While I was thinking about that, Renji-san finished reading the contract document and handed it back to Shirayuki-sensei.

There didn't seem to be any corrections to the contract content, so Shirayuki-sensei, who received the Contract Circle, asked Aya-chan to call the snow Princess.

"T-This is the contract content."

"Let me read it."

The snow Princess snatched the document from Shirayuki’s hand and carefully read it from top to bottom.

After reading it two or three times, she lifted her head from the paper.

"This will do."

"I-Is that so? Then, let's proceed with the contract."

As Shirayuki-sensei said that, she created the "Guiding Thread Silvate" and wound it around her own thumb.

Then, she firmly pressed her thumb onto the mysterious circular pattern at the end of the contract document.

At that moment, the pattern drawn with ink emitted light and pulsed.

It looked like it was alive... I stared at the document, and Shirayuki-sensei, facing the snow Princess, gently conveyed something.

"Snow Princess, please wind the thread around your thumb. A-And once you've done that... press your thumb to this contract seal here."

"Like this...?"

Saying that, the Ice Princess wound the thread around her finger just like Shirayuki-sensei did and showed it to me.

When I nodded, she pressed her thumb just like Shirayuki-sensei did.

I remember seeing a similar scene on TV or social media before.

Back then, they cut their thumb with a sword and then pressed it. What was that called again? Blood oath or something?

I'm not sure about the name, but it feels somewhat like that.

At the moment the magic-infused blood contract was engraved onto the document, green "Guiding Thread Silvate" overflowed from the contract clauses and wrapped around the snow Princess as if to protect her.

It was an instant event, and by the time I blinked, the "Guiding Thread Silvate" had already disappeared.

But that didn't mean anything had changed about the snow Princess.

At least, there didn't seem to be any significant changes in her appearance.

"With this, you can no longer harm humans. If you break it, you'll lose 90% of your maximum magic power."

"It's a meaningless contract. I only need to protect Aya."

Saying that, the snow Princess crossed her arms and disappeared into Aya-chan's body as if to say, "I'm done here."

Watching that scene, I reached into my pocket and touched the relic of Raikou-Douji.

Come to think of it, the snow Princess is a Sixth-rank monster who used to be a human.

Harunaga is... well, an insect, but it's still an existence created by humans.

In that case, what about Raikou-Douji? What was it like?

I suddenly thought about that.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter