The commander dragged me away, and the analysis of [Hermit]’s soul was finally complete.
“Just as you said, this object really is Yoshino’s spirit power made physical.”
Since it was Murasame-san saying it, it had to be accurate. There was no way she held the title of interpreter for nothing.
“And as for your body...”
I’d already had [Hermit]’s soul analyzed, and they had examined my body once before. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time and just let it slide, but now that Murasame-san was trailing off, a strange sense of unease began to bubble up inside me.
“First of all, you really are a spirit.”
There it was—the source of that vague unease. Apparently, I was a spirit. The commander nodded as if she’d expected it. At this point, no matter how much I insisted otherwise, she would never believe me.
“But you’re different from a normal spirit.”
“Huh? Different how?”
Murasame-san’s statement was shocking. She was saying I was different from ordinary spirits. Honestly, the fact that she was calling me a spirit in the first place was enough of a blow. I could at least accept that part, since the souls in my body shared the same wavelength as spirit power in this world. But being "different" sounded like there was something fundamentally wrong with my body.
“Hmm... how should I put this? Normal spirits have a unique power flowing through their bodies. But yours is a mess. Everything is mixed together. If I had to put it simply, I’d call it chaos.”
At Murasame-san’s explanation, both the commander and I froze. Multiple kinds of spirit power inside my body? I couldn’t make sense of it. What, was I some kind of spirit devourer?
“Reine, do you seriously think that makes sense? If what you’re saying is true, then you’re telling me this guy was born from a mixture of multiple spirits, right?”
“I don’t understand it either. But what I’m saying is true. Right now, an enormous number of spirit powers are tangled and knotted together inside Hieta’s body, forming one massive source of power.”
The commander didn’t seem to believe Murasame-san either. But before I could dismiss her words as a mistake, one possibility came to mind.
The souls I’d absorbed.
My body was the game character I’d created and played. That meant the souls I’d absorbed in the game were still there. In other words, the multiple spirit powers Murasame-san was talking about were likely the souls I’d collected so far.
“Commander. I think Murasame-san is probably right.”
“What? Then you really are a spirit born from a mixture of multiple spirits?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean there are multiple spirit powers residing inside my body.”
“That’s the same thing!”
The commander shouted in frustration. No, I’m the one who’s frustrated here, you little brat.
“You’re thinking something rude, aren’t you?”
Wow, how did she figure that out?
“Anyway, I have a special constitution. If I kill things that possess spirit power, I can absorb it. That doesn’t mean I’ve been going around hunting spirits, so don’t get the wrong idea. In other words, it’s not strange for there to be multiple spirit powers inside me.”
Even after my explanation, the commander still looked uncomfortable, as if she didn’t understand a word of it. But that was the best explanation I could give. If she still didn’t believe me after I’d made it as simple as possible, there was nothing more I could do.
“Well, I’ll believe you for now. Though it does feel a little suspicious.”
Fortunately, even if the commander didn't fully grasp it, she accepted it. I let out a quiet sigh of relief and decided to keep listening to Murasame-san.
“Anything else?”
“There is one more thing. The condition for you to seal a spirit.”
Now that was something I was genuinely curious about. Murasame-san didn’t seem to know exactly *how* I could seal them, but it looked like she had figured out the requirement.
“You can seal them if you raise their affection, just like Shido. They’ll be sealed in the form of that object you showed earlier. But that isn’t a complete seal. Someone has to absorb it for the seal to become permanent.”
In the end, [Hermit]’s soul really was Yoshino-chan’s spirit power made physical, just as I’d expected. Since they’d concluded it was safe to use, we decided to call Itsuka-kun over to have him absorb it.
“So... I’m supposed to use this?”
“Yes. The analysis is finished and it’s been certified safe, so you don’t need to worry.”
“How do I use it?”
“Just hold it in your hand and apply enough force to break it.”
Following my instructions, Itsuka-kun gripped [Hermit]’s soul and strained until the veins stood out on his hand.
“Huh? It won’t break.”
“...Pardon?”
But [Hermit]’s soul remained intact. Itsuka-kun tried gripping both ends with both hands and forcing it apart, then even put it on the ground and stomped on it. Even after the commander handed him a hammer and he brought it down with all his strength, [Hermit]’s soul didn’t even crack.
“Let me try!”
Tohka, who had come along with us, tried as well, but it was no use.
“Is this thing really supposed to break?”
“This can’t be...”
Flustered by the object's resilience, I picked it up myself.
“Normally, if I put in this much force...”
Crack!
“Huh?”
I’d only applied a tiny amount of force as a demonstration, but unlike everything Itsuka-kun had tried, it shattered absurdly easily. Yoshino-chan’s spirit power flowed into my body. Everyone watching looked just as stunned as I was.
“W-why...”
“Could it be that only you can use it?”
The commander’s suspicion was reasonable. I nodded in agreement.
“That’s definitely a possibility.”
“Hmm... maybe this worked out better.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because now there are twice as many people who can seal spirits. That means it’ll be less of a burden on Shido. And if I think about the things you said to Yoshino, your chances of raising a spirit’s affection are probably higher than Shido’s.”
With the exception of the last part, the commander was right. If I could seal spirits too, it would definitely reduce the strain on Itsuka-kun.
By the way, the equipment that appeared after I used [Hermit]’s soul caught my eye. The description had clearly only said that using it would let me seal spirit power, not that it would create an item.
“Yoshinon?”
The equipment looked almost exactly like Yoshinon. The only differences were that it had no eyepatch, it was red, and its eyes were blue buttons.
“This is basically Yoshinon Hieta-ver...”
As I thought that and equipped it, the doll—which had been hanging its head—suddenly jerked upright and started chattering loudly.
“Huh? Where am I? Oh! Are you my master? Wow, this place is really weird!”
At the noisy voice, everyone’s eyes snapped toward me.
“Hieta? That is...”
“Yo, Yoshinon?”
“Wow~ what’s this~? Another me~? But somehow, it looks like Itsuka-kun~?”
“Oh! Master! I can feel a similar vibe from that guy?! Something about him feels like me!”
I felt like my brain was going to melt from the two dolls’ nonstop chatter. Maybe these two should never have been allowed to meet.
“What is that?”
“Well... it’s equipment that appeared when I sealed Yoshino-chan’s spirit power. I didn’t expect it to be this noisy either. I’m putting it away now.”
The equipment jolted in shock at my words. Then it started wailing and throwing a fit, begging me not to abandon it.
“No! Master! Don’t give up on me! I’ll do anything you tell me to! I mean, I’m your equipment in the first place! How can you be so heartless and throw me away?! That’s too much! You made me, Master! I don’t think this is right! If it was going to be like this, you shouldn’t have made me at all! It would’ve been better to stay in the dark, with no self-awareness at all! Why did you show me the light of the world?! You awful master!”
And then it punched me with a fist made of cloth. It didn’t really hurt, though. What hurt was the way everyone was looking at me.
“Hieta...”
“Trash.”
“Hieta, are you really planning to throw that child away?”
“H-Hieta-san...”
“No way! Hieta-kun isn’t planning to throw away this child who looks just like Yoshinon, right~? You’re not that kind of trash, right~?”
Rubbing my temples against the oncoming headache, I opened my mouth.
“Everyone, listen. I’m not throwing this child away. I’m just storing it for now. I’ll take it out when it’s time to use it. Really.”
“It’s true, Master! Got it! Then I won’t act all pathetic anymore! Hurry up and put me away!”
I swallowed the words “you’ve already been acting pathetic enough” and put the equipment into my inventory.
“But doesn’t that child need a name too?”
Yoshinon suddenly suggested naming my equipment. Everyone agreed, and after a flurry of suggestions, the thing ended up with the bizarre name Hikinon—a portmanteau of Higakieta and Yoshinon. Somehow, that made me feel gross.
“Well, let’s put Hikinon aside for now. Since Hiki can seal spirits too now, we need to get ready.”
When the commander said that, Itsuka-kun looked at me with a mixture of pity and kinship.
“Itsuka-kun? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well...”
When I stepped closer, he averted his eyes. It didn’t take long to figure out why.
“...In other words, you’re saying you have to train now too, just like Shido.”
At the commander’s words, a memory surfaced. Itsuka-kun had told me about the training he’d gone through: a simulation made by [Ratatoskr] where he had to clear a dating sim, and every time he hit a bad ending, his dark history was exposed to the entire crew.
“Ah, come on. Even if that’s true, I don’t have any dark history here, do I?”
I tried to ignore the cold sweat running down my back. Yes, that was definitely true.
“Of course, you’ll need a penalty too, just like Shido, right? Everything you’ve done so far has been recorded.”
That was, until she said that. At the commander’s death sentence, I started trying to talk my way out of it as hard as I could.
“Commander. Think about what you said before.”
“Why?”
“According to you, if I unconsciously say things that seduce women, then I wouldn’t need this training, would I?”
“...That’s true, isn’t it?”
The commander was slowly being persuaded. If I could just keep this up a little longer, I’d be able to avoid that training!
“Kotori. But just in case, shouldn’t Hieta still go through the training?”
If not for Itsuka-kun’s interference, I really could have escaped it. I trusted you! I trusted you!!!
“You’re right. Just like Shido said, you should train too.”
That day, my world collapsed.
“Oh, and by the way, your place is ready, so pack your things and come to our house.”
The collapsed world was repaired, at least a little.
--------------------
Hikinon
A doll made from [Hermit]’s spirit power
Looks similar to [Hermit]’s doll
The doll is extremely talkative, and its personality awakens when equipped
Combat technique: [Ice Shield]
A useful combat technique whether equipped on the left or right
When used, a large shield made of ice appears in front of the doll. If it guards against an attack carrying spirit power, it converts that power into ice chunks and fires them back at the enemy
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