Spirits, strictly speaking, are more akin to souls.
Therefore, in order to sense spirits, one must be born with the ability to perceive souls and have a natural sensitivity to them.
However, this soul sensitivity is a field difficult to explain in words, which is why spirit summoners are considered extremely rare even among humans.
Because they themselves don’t understand how they formed contracts with spirits, it’s nearly impossible for them to pass on their knowledge.
In Shane’s case, he could help someone sense spirits. But just like the others, he couldn’t explain it in words.
And even that was impossible if the person’s soul was ordinary to begin with.
So then, what about Dilaila?
“To be blunt, in your case, it’s not that you lack talent entirely.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes.”
“In what way?”
“The spirit of darkness. The fact that it was able to cling to you means your potential is higher than most.”
“Ah…”
Even a spirit of darkness wouldn’t prefer a host with low soul sensitivity, as that would reduce the amount of emotion it could absorb.
Unless it was in a desperate situation like the one Shane had encountered on his way to the academy in the past, a spirit had standards for choosing a host.
“That’s strange. Then why can’t I feel them?”
In truth, after hearing from Shane that the spirits of the earth existed in this place, Dilaila hadn’t thought it would be impossible to sense them if she truly set her mind to it.
This wasn’t baseless confidence but rather a deep-rooted belief in her own race.
Then, Shane continued his explanation.
“Even for an ordinary spirit summoner, it’s difficult to resonate with a spirit that lacks its own will. No matter how much one calls out to them, if the spirit can’t define itself, it won’t even realize it’s being called.”
“Then how are the monsters here able to do it?”
“It comes from a difference in how they evolved. Humans weren’t a species that evolved to interact with spirits. It’s simply that strong spirits are drawn to strong souls, and they approach first.”
“Ah…”
“On the other hand, the monsters here have survived in this place for an immeasurable length of time and made efforts to sense the spirits themselves. That kind of difference can’t be bridged with just a few days of effort.”
So… is there no way, then?
Dilaila paused to think, and then her eyes suddenly widened.
“Then if I want to call them instead… it means I need some kind of force to compel them.”
As it happened, Dilaila had once taken a lecture related to this very topic.
It was the concept of elemental domination she had learned from Raviata in the Great Mezaiya Forest.
If there were beings that couldn’t be lured or coaxed, then maybe a forceful method like domination could work.
But is that… really the right thing to do?
Domination.
Even the word itself felt uncomfortable, and Dilaila didn’t like it one bit.
And for good reason. She had seen with her own eyes what kind of domination the enslaved non-humans had endured.
To her, domination felt like a step down the path of becoming something monstrous.
As if to cut off Dilaila’s concerns before they could take root, Shane spoke up.
“There are many forms of domination.”
“Many forms…?”
“Did Raviata seem like she was oppressing or suppressing the fire spirit to you?”
“Ah…”
The fire spirit that had appeared toward the end of the Mezaiya Forest expedition.
It had formed a contract with Raviata. But it had never felt like it was being dominated.
“When even just three people gather, dynamics of power, large or small, inevitably form between them. That too can be considered a form of domination. But would you call that oppression or suppression?”
“Well… no, I wouldn’t.”
Even Dilaila, back when she was part of Klein’s team, had followed Klein as the leader, but he had never oppressed or suppressed her.
“Then what do you think lies at the core of that kind of domination?”
“…Ah! Charisma?”
“Correct.”
“Ah, what a fool I am. I actually learned this once and completely forgot.”
Hadn’t Raviata once told her during their time in the Great Mezaiya Forest that she must show her charisma to gain the earth’s trust?
And here she was, only now remembering it.
She couldn’t help but scold herself.
“That’s how learning works. Just because you’ve been taught something once doesn’t mean it becomes truly yours.”
“Well… that’s true. Hmm. But even if I show charisma, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do next…”
After all, the other party had no will of its own. It felt like telling a doll, “Follow me!”
Spirits weren’t the same as the earth itself, and Dilaila had no idea what steps to take.
“I’ll help you with that part.”
“Huh, really? Wow. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“But, hmm…”
“…? What is it?”
Shane looked at Dilaila for a moment and then frowned.
He had once helped another person sense the presence of spirits.
Coincidentally, that had also led to the successful formation of a contract with an earth spirit. And that person had been none other than the Second Imperial Princess of the Empire, Anastasia.
The very person who, across two lifetimes, had been the first to teach Shane the emotion known as “love”.
Because among all spirits, the earth spirit was the one most compatible with Anastasia’s Origin of “immobility”.
However, the problem was that even for someone like Shane, making another person resonate with a spirit was no easy task.
That’s why optimal conditions were absolutely necessary. And those very conditions were what made Shane hesitate.
Shane, whose human sensibilities had been quite worn down, wouldn’t have cared in the past.
But ever since meeting Anastasia, he had come to understand a few things about how to properly treat the opposite sex.
In other words, he had realized that asking a woman to be in a naked state, which was the condition where one’s soul is most open to resonating with a spirit, was not something to be taken lightly.
Back then, Anastasia had trusted Shane, and Shane had never viewed her with any improper thoughts, so it hadn’t been an issue at all.
But then Shane recalled something Anastasia had once said:
– If you ever see another woman naked, be prepared to die.
……
Of course, Shane knew she hadn’t meant it literally, but it was still a terrifying thing to hear.
And she had added something after that:
– If, for some unavoidable reason, you do end up seeing another woman naked, you are to report it to me immediately. Understood?
Hmm. Did that mean she was giving him permission?
If Shane had been a little wiser at the time, he would have remembered how just nodding in response to Anastasia’s words had earned him several days of being glared at with eyes colder than the climate of Arunbida.
But naturally, Shane’s humanity was still quite worn down, and he hadn’t yet reached the level of thinking that far ahead.
And naturally…
“Eeeeeeeeeeek?!”
The person who had to listen to his explanation was, of course, the most shocked.
***
It was a feeling not unlike when a pet that always kept you guessing whether it liked you or not finally showed affection.
“It… it worked!!”
Others might have described it differently, but for Dilaila, who had succeeded in resonating with the earth spirit, that was exactly how it felt.
The moment she succeeded in connecting with the spirit of the earth, it felt as if everything around her was celebrating her.
In that moment, Dilaila unconsciously jumped to her feet, trembling with joy.
“Finally!”
“Put your clothes on first.”
“Eeeeeek!!”
Having been completely naked just moments ago with Shane’s help, Dilaila screamed and quickly scrambled to get dressed.
“A-Ahem! Um…”
“What is it?”
“Ahem. Nothing. Just… thank you. Ahem.”
How should she put it…?
Thanks to the man standing before her, Dilaila had been communicating with the earth spirits every day for the past two weeks. And yet, she couldn’t help but think….what a stone-faced man.
The complete lack of change in his tone made her wonder if maybe she simply didn’t have any feminine charm.
No, no. That can’t be it. He just seems like the type who wouldn’t react to anyone, no matter who they were. I mean, I wasn’t exactly unpopular at the Adventurer’s Guild, either…
Before the terrorist incident, there had even been a few adventurers who’d shown interest in her.
Of course, back then she hadn’t been in a place where she could trust anyone, so she’d turned them all down.
“It’s good that you understand it now. Anyway, how does it feel? That connection with the spirits?”
“Uh, how should I say this… It’s really hard to put into words. The moment I made contact, it felt like they all came rushing in at once.”
“Must be because you’re from the underground. Earth spirits really take to you. Hmm.”
Meanwhile, Shane was quietly comparing the present Dilaila with the one from his past life.
Back then, Dilaila had wielded earth spirits with a charisma so intense it bordered on violent.
As a result, the spirits that had followed her were equally aggressive in nature.
But the current Dilaila… was the complete opposite.
It was as if the spirits followed her like she was their own parent.
Hard to say which version is more effective.
In any case, the fact that Dilaila had grown more accustomed to the Nakar Desert could only be a good thing.
Now, all that was left was to test how well she performed the next day.
Having accomplished their goal, the two decided to call it a night and head to their respective beds.
Time passed.
In the late hours before dawn, not long after Shane opened his eyes, Dilaila suddenly jolted upright as well.
Something had brushed against both of their senses.
“……”
“Ah.”
They sat up in bed and, after exchanging a brief glance, moved at the same time. They rushed outside.
“Rrraaawwwwrrr!!”
Not far from the camp, a containment spell Dilaila had set up had been triggered. Inside it, something was struggling.
“M-Mrrowr…”
A cat beastkin with light brown fur was caught inside.
***
“P-Phew…! I-I’m alive, nya. Really, thank you so much…”
Gulping down water in a rush, the cat beastkin who introduced herself as Mirash perked up her ears and bowed her head toward Shane and Dilaila.
“Um… are you okay?”
“Nya-nya. Thanks for worrying. I’m okay now, thanks to you. Hmm, but you two don’t seem like locals, do you?”
“Yeah, well…”
Just like in the Great Forest, it still felt surreal to Dilaila to be speaking with a different race inside a dungeon. She gave an awkward nod.
In reality, Dilaila and Mirash were conversing in different languages.
It was only possible thanks to a spell Shane had created, based on the communication methods of the elves.
“Did you come all this way alone?”
“That’s right. I had companions, but we got separated when we were attacked by a Mega Sandworm. I’m worried if they’re okay…”
“Hmm…”
As she spoke, Shane slowly looked over Mirash from head to toe.
A cat woman with light brown fur and three distinct stripes on her head.
Her eyes were a deep golden hue, like sunlit sand.
“W-Why are you looking at me like that, nya?”
“No, it’s nothing. Still, if it was a Mega Sandworm… that should be quite a distance from here.”
“Right… it was about three days away. Even my camel collapsed from exhaustion, so I had to let it go. It was a good one…”
“Lucky you even made it out alive.”
“If there’s one thing we felines are good at, it’s stealth, nya. That much wasn’t hard. The problem was how persistent that thing was.”
It was true. Mega Sandworms were among the most powerful monsters in the Nakar Desert.
Their sheer size alone was enough to swallow an ogre in one bite.
Because that creature could silently swim beneath the sand, it had earned another name: the Great Reaper of the Desert.
“Phew… This trade run failed big time. What a loss. Still, I guess I should be grateful I at least made it out alive.”
Mumbling to herself, Mirash let out a weary, faint smile.
“By the way, I feel bad for asking after getting help like this, but… could I ask where you’re headed, nya?”
“We’re on our way to the Argato Oasis.”
“Oh! That’s perfect. We’re headed in the same direction! If this is fate, maybe I could travel with you partway, nya?!”
“Do you have anything that can prove your identity?”
“Of course I do!”
“Then there’s one condition. We’d like you to vouch for our identities once we arrive.”
“Hmm…?”
Mirash glanced back and forth between Shane and Dilaila.
“That’s not too hard. But I can’t stay more than three days. I’ll need to get my own ID made by then…would that be okay, nya?”
“As long as we can get inside, that’s fine.”
“Great! Then it’s a deal, nya!”
Mirash reached out with both hands, and Shane and Dilaila quickly took them, giving them a firm shake.
Wow. Cat jelly. Rough but also squishy…how strange.
And with that thought from Dilaila, the journey of the three companions began.
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