Chapter 11
A FEW HOURS HAD PASSED SINCE Mira departed for Haxthausen. Travel in the wagon pulled by Garuda was impeccably comfortable, and the view from the window was superb.
“Ah. Now, this is the life.”
As Mira gazed at the endless, verdant earth below and blue skies above, she relished the luxuriousness of her environment. The wagon was like a secret base—a wonderfully relaxing one.
She sipped yogurt au lait and snacked on stuffed buns she’d bought at the food stalls. It was a truly relaxing moment, enjoying refreshments as she watched the world from on high.
After finishing her snack, Mira continued to gaze down. She confirmed her current location and muttered, “We’ll probably get there around tomorrow evening…”
Land travel from this distance would’ve taken around a week, but it was barely a day by sky. Her trip was going smoothly, and she’d get there tomorrow by doing nothing but continuing to relax. It was so peaceful now, it was hard to believe she’d been running around the Ancient Underground City mere days ago.
She could only fly because Garuda was there to carry her. “This is all thanks to you, Garuda, really. Thanks,” Mira told her friend, who replied with a happy squawk.
Though they were high in the sky, the air around the wagon was like a comforting spring breeze. The wind enveloping Garuda mirrored its emotions; it was happy too right now—though Mira couldn’t feel that, tucked away in the cabin.
***
“Hmm…”
A while after snack time, the urge to pee set in. Mira blamed the scenery for putting her in such a good mood that she’d drunk two whole yogurt au laits.
Unfortunately, she was up in the sky. She couldn’t use the mansion spirit’s bathroom. Fortunately, this wagon was made with such needs in mind.
Mira opened the closet door and crawled downstairs. When she opened a trapdoor in the corner, there was a simple toilet.
The limited wagon space left the bathroom area cramped. Mira couldn’t stand up straight and use it, but since it was made for someone of her stature, it was surprisingly fairly comfortable. In fact, there was something cozy about its size. That height restriction made the toilet a Japanese-style one.
Alcait’s engineers were no joke. Although the toilet was “simple,” it used technomancy technology. And, although using it consumed magic stones, it was perpetually clean. Waste was processed, then dumped under the wagon.
“Ah, satisfaction. Everything needed can be condensed into such a small space. How wonderful.”
This wagon, built as a result of Mira’s negotiations with Solomon, was the ideal secret base. She’d fallen in love with the mansion spirit back in the Ancient Underground City, but the wagon was truly wonderful as well.
Mira wondered whether the mansion spirit had grown yet. When a contracted summon grew, or their bond with her deepened, the contract could expand to match. That yielded various benefits.
On that note, I should check Sanctia and Wasranvel as well.
Both had put in great work during the Machina Guardian battle, and Mira wondered whether they’d also grown in some way. She acted quickly, closing her eyes and focusing inward.
Hrmm. I see a lot more than I used to.
She felt a definite connection. That much, she was accustomed to. From there, she focused even more deeply on the link between herself and the spirits. An image similar to a family tree, or perhaps a video game’s skill tree, came to mind. A contract allowed one to select and unlock skills on that tree.
Moved by the depth of their connections, Mira focused on her contracts with the mansion spirit, Sanctia, and Wasranvel. Ooh, here we go! I can finally power up Sanctia’s evocation! Still nothing for Wasranvel, it seems…
Perhaps because a thousand of her dark knights had wielded Sanctia, the spirit’s link to Mira had deepened and strengthened. Mira had many more options available now.
However, Wasranvel had experienced no such change. Was it because his job was so simple? Or did his status as a greater spirit require more use in order for him to grow? Either way, Mira didn’t mind taking it slowly. Her real focus right now was the mansion spirit, after all.
When she went to check her contract with that spirit, Mira noticed another contract that she could expand. Ooh! Is that another result of the shift to real life?
All the spirits she’d contracted in-game had reached their growth limits, so it’d been a long time since she’d bothered to check their details. As for her new contracts, like Wasranvel and Sanctia, she’d checked them individually here and there. Given that the others had all been capped long ago, she saw no reason to pay them any mind.
But her dark knights and holy knights had far surpassed their previous limits, making it possible to expand their contracts again. How long had they been ready?
Surprised by that revelation, Mira checked all her contracts in a flurry. She found that every contract but Wasranvel’s was ready to expand.
What a fool I am, taking for granted that everything stayed the same… They didn’t just grow; our bonds have come so far too. Mira mentally thanked all her contracted allies, making a mental note to say hello to them all sometime soon.
She didn’t sit brooding sentimentally for long, however. She took the opportunity to expand all her contracts, starting with the mansion spirit that had prompted this check.
Expanding a contract added various effects to that contract’s magic circle during summoning. It could bolster a defensive barrier, increase stats, provide elemental attributes, and more. The effects depended greatly on the specific contract.
In the mansion spirit’s case, its expansion elements were unrelated to battle. Mira opted for one that would add a tub to the bathroom. She was eager to lounge in a bath instead of just showering all the time.
Thus, Mira expanded every contract that she could.
***
Good grief. If I’d noticed sooner, the fight against the Machina Guardian would’ve been so much easier. Feeling a real sense of growth, Mira returned her consciousness to the surface.
“Now, let’s see…”
She stood and summoned a holy knight as a test. This time was different from usual; the holy knight appeared in the same place as Mira, essentially surrounding her.
“Oh ho! Incredible. I feel no extra weight at all!”
That was due to a new expansion element, Equip Weapon Spirit. Its effect was basically just that—Mira could “wear” the weapon spirit. The holy knight appeared as protective armor, making her look like a princess-knight hybrid.
The performance of the armor itself depended on the holy knight that comprised that armor. As such, Mira’s well-evolved summons created armor much stronger than the average suit.
The armor’s helmet and visor could be freely removed, and the tower shield characteristic of holy knights was gone. Or, rather, Mira had removed it as she calibrated the new technique. She’d tried holding a sword, but given her usual fighting style, fighting empty-handed seemed easier.
It was also possible to make the armor move like any other holy knight.
“Still much more room to grow stronger, I see.”
She could expand her contracts and grow beyond her previous limits. All this new power hadn’t come from new contracts; it came from bolstering power she’d already cultivated, and its sheer potential filled Mira with heartfelt joy.
At one time, she’d been hailed as the strongest summoner. Despite the feeling of accomplishment, that made her aware of her own limits. She’d expanded many contracts as much as possible, leaving her with the assumption that she had no more room to grow.
Now, however, she knew that wasn’t true. The bonds she’d deepened so much showed that she could still grow. The limits she’d encountered previously, she realized, might’ve been set arbitrarily. There were so many differences between the game world and this real world—so many unknowns to discover.
Eager for those discoveries, she pulled out the notes she’d copied from Soul Howl’s notebook and studied harder than ever.
***
In the flying wagon, Mira flopped down and read those copied notes. “Goodness. That jerk Soul Howl’s made so much progress,” she muttered to herself, sulking a little.
They’d theorized that Soul Howl might’ve arrived in this world before even Solomon. After all, Solomon checked his Friends List as part of his daily routine. Doing so, he’d noted the dates on which a few Wise Men appeared in this world. However, Soul Howl’s name had never appeared. That meant he’d been in this world before the king started monitoring the list.
Those last thirty years had been no joke. During that time, the necromancer had researched and compiled notes that far outshone Mira’s own. Naturally, the competitive summoner pored over the notes endlessly, desperate to catch up and overtake Soul Howl.
Hours passed in the blink of an eye. Night fell, the moon and stars shining in the sky.
“Whoops. Getting late, I see.”
It was already past 9:00 p.m., and as she gazed into the night, Mira realized she’d been so engrossed in her research that she hadn’t even eaten.
Well, at any rate, she’d already made it more than halfway to Haxthausen. That seemed like enough progress for a day, so she ordered Garuda to find a river and land by it. There seemed to be one close by. After circling far above, Garuda descended on the river, lowering the wagon to the bank.
“Fantastic work. I’ll need your help again tomorrow, so rest well.” Mira thanked the bird, petting it gently, and dismissed it. Garuda proudly spread its wings, accepting the task, then disappeared in a warm glow.
After that, Mira summoned the mansion spirit and started eating one of her packed meals to sate her hunger. “Mmm. Yes, this idea was genius.”
She didn’t need to go to the time or effort to cook. When she was hungry and wanted to eat, she could fulfill the urge immediately. Satisfied by her own brilliance in stocking up on precooked meals, Mira savored her fresh yakiniku bento.
Having filled her tummy, she finally went to a place she’d intentionally avoided until now: the bathroom. Thanks to her expansion work, it now boasted a tub.
Mira had previously been forced to settle for showers. Those were luxurious enough, but now she could take full baths—even this far from human settlements.
Suppressing her impatience, she slowly opened the bathroom door.
“Ooh…a bath! That’s a bathtub, without a doubt!”
What had once been just a shower had now expanded beautifully. Next to the shower was a well-made stone tub. It was about as big as a tub in an ordinary home, but the lustrous stone had a classy sheen like that found in a noble’s abode. If there was one problem, it was the fact that the tub had no water in it.
“Should’ve run the bath while I ate.”
Mira now regretted saving this for last, but one misstep wouldn’t dishearten her. She turned the faucet on full blast to fill the tub. Based on the speed the water flowed, the bath would be ready in just ten minutes.
Though the mansion spirit was an incredible being, this method of running a bath was as common as could be. Mira smiled gleefully as she watched the tub fill bit by bit. As long as she could summon the mansion, she could bathe, whatever the circumstances—even on mountains during raging blizzards.
This was just the beginning of boundless possibilities, and her excitement only grew.
***
“Halfway there…” Unable to sit still and wait, Mira stripped and gazed at the rising water impatiently. “Hrmm. While I’m at it…”
Antsy, she pulled out her Just Add Water! Easy Technomancy Laundry Bag and threw her dirty clothes into it. Then she removed a travel bag from her Item Box and transferred some worn underwear to the laundry bag.
“That ought to do it.” The Easy Technomancy Laundry Bag was overstuffed, but Mira decided it’d be all right. She ran hot water in from the faucet, then sealed the top of the bag. “Now we wait… Ah, how convenient.”
When she flipped the switch, the laundry bag started bubbling. This was all it took to wash her clothes. Dinoire Trading truly had cutting-edge technological capabilities. Sure, this wasn’t the same as a real washing machine, but her clothes weren’t that dirty. Mira figured it would do just fine.
Once she’d finished loading the laundry bag, she turned back to the bath. “Still needs to be a little deeper…”
It was about one-fifth empty, but Mira was small. That was more than enough water to sink into and submerge herself to her shoulders. However, she wouldn’t compromise; the joy of hearing the water overflow and splash as she got in was key to the bath’s luxury, after all.
“Ah. Speaking of luxury, I think it’s time for a certain something!”
As she envisioned the perfect moment in the bath, something that would allow for even greater ecstasy crossed her mind: a cold drink afterward. The feeling of the beverage cooling her hot body would truly be the ultimate finishing touch. She’d already stocked up for that purpose, preparing for the day when she could truly bathe in the mansion spirit.
“This is my first bath here—an event to remember. I need to choose carefully…” She opened her inventory and looked up and down at the items she’d squirreled away, searching for the perfect one. A few minutes later, she’d made her pick.
She pulled another of Dinoire Trading’s technomancy goods for adventurers out of her Item Box. It was the Quick-Chill Cooling Box, a self-explanatory container small enough to hold in one hand. Anything that fit inside would chill to an ice-cold temperature. A sister product, the Quick-Heat Warming Box, did the exact opposite.
Mira put a magic cell into the cooling box, placed the drink inside, and flipped the switch. There was a faint sound like swirling wind. Now, she only had to wait.
Having prepped for after the bath, she listened to the flowing water again; the bathtub was full.
“Finally, the time has come!” Mira turned the faucet, stopping the water, and dipped her hand in. The bath was hot—over forty-two degrees Celsius—which made it the ideal temperature for her. “This is it. This is it!”
Having confirmed that her bath was perfect, she finally plunged her right foot into the tub. Pressure and heat enveloped it. Feeling the warmth creep up her leg, she placed her left foot in as well before finally sinking in all at once.
“Ah, aaaah…paradiiise!” she squealed, delighted.
At the same time, water rushed over the tub edge, falling like a waterfall to the bathroom floor. Because Mira was so small, the water didn’t have as much force as it used to, but the feeling of conquest was just as powerful. Then, a rush of guilt for making a mess, and the stimulation of the heat, rushed through her, awakening a sensation akin to pleasure.
Mira stretched her legs out like a king in the tub and savored the long-awaited bath.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login