Walking through the dark forest, the most notable sound I hear is Claire mumbling to herself. I know she is trying to make a contract with some spirits, but it's far more concerning to hear half whispered words than to be overhearing a one sided conversation with the spirits (after all, they reply mentally to the person they are talking to). In an attempt to make conversation I ask the Spirit King,

“So, earth spirit, since you became a spirit king so long ago, what is your name?”

She stops and turns to me looking greatly offended.

“Master, did you forget? On the condition that you helped us find a way to ascend to the rank of spirit king we would accept the name you give us and form a complete contract. I thought you were just being fair to the others, but you forgot?!”

Oh right. Originally to get contracts with spirit princes I made partial contracts, where a spirit will serve but is allowed to leave at any time in return for a delayed payment from the summoner. Upon fulfilling the agreed upon terms, the summoner will then name their contracted spirits, forming a complete contract in which the spirits will be bound to the contract for the duration of the summoner’s life. My contract was along the lines of, ‘I request not for power or victory, I request for help not in battle but in craft. I am not a warrior, but a creator, and I wish for your help in creating legends. I offer a partial contract, in which you will help me create artifacts and in return we shall research a way for you to ascend to become the first known spirit kings! I present these creations to serve as proof in my master of alchemy, enchanting, and blacksmithing to prove my dedication and knowledge of combining arcane knowledge to the physical world. Upon your ascension, then will the payment be complete and a formal contract be established, in which I will grant you names!’  I mean, I guess it is fulfilled at this point, but I technically died. There was no reason to stay bound to me.

“Sorry, I just thought that since I died, you would have named yourselves. After all, a Spirit King is a spirit who has gained recognized existence in the physical world and thus has the right to name itself. Also, since I technically died, so you wouldn’t have broken our contract.”

To which she responds with disappointed pout.

“When staying with you through all your years of hard work, we saw how dedicated you were to your craft, and your promise to us. Even though you hated the empire for enslaving you, you still never cheated them with the products you created. How could we abandon you? After all, we put in so much effort to save you! To us, you never died, you just merely went to sleep. So right here, before we go any further, fulfill your contract with me Master!”

Hmmm, this is hard, coming up with a name on the spot. I look to Claire, but she is in her own world. In fact, she is sitting down with her eyes closed in a meditative pose. Darn. The Spirit King is looking at me expectantly, and after so long I don’t want to disappoint her. Think, think, what were my initial ideas? There was an old book I read where one woman’s circumstance leads to the creation of the strongest artifacts. Sif. It fits perfectly, as this particular spirit of mine has contributed the most during my career. After all, metal is just another form of earth. 

Looking at her I declare, “The payment has been given and our bond complete. Henceforth, you are Sif!”

The mana in the earth trembles, and a beam of earth mana, so dense it takes the form of a dim brown light visible to the naked eye, and shoots into the sky. Even though I know the principle behind it, wow, to think a Spirit King can control this level of mana. An unnamed spirit is an unstable existence in this world, and so being named by a corporeal being validates the existence of the individual spiritual being, causing it to stabilize in the corporeal world. This leads to said spirit gaining a one time boost in power relative to their level. That being said, the mortal races have never seen a spirit king before, much less having the honor to name one. 

The light recedes and Sif smiles at me glowingly. Literally, her skin is faintly glowing the same color as the light of the mana beam from earlier. “Thank you Master, from now on, I, Sif, shall ever be your Spirit. I assist you in any ways possible and forge new legends together with you. And you have my word I will NEVER let someone harm you again.”  The last bit was said with a hardness I had not expected from an aloof spirit. 

“Thank you Sif. Please take care of me. You probably have more knowledge of the outside world than me now haha.” I don’t know what else to say to that heartfelt declaration. 

“Yes Master! You can rest assured I will help. Though I haven’t personally been to any human settlements trying to blend in, I have viewed the world through my subordinates for years.”

Uh oh. So we are two fools with no relevant social experience whatsoever. Maybe we will just have to lean on Claire longer than expected… Speaking of which, I notice her stand up and stretch.

“Ok my ladies, it looks like all contracts are done! Let's get going to my place.”

I can somewhat make out the shapes of four elementals, fire, water, earch, and wind buzzing around her excitedly. I don’t know what she offered, but they certainly are happy. Claire’s tone drops to a serious one, “So what should I tell my parents? I don’t really know what to say since we can’t talk about who you really are and how you’re here. Mistress Sif, you said you had thought things out, so what should we do?”

“Fufu, I do have it planned out. Do not worry, I will handle it when we get there.

We approach a homely cottage at the edge of town, closest to the forest. Claire opens the door and announces, “Hey maaa, paaa, I’m home! I made a contract with four greater spirits! Also, I uh, need to introduce you to some people.”

A middle aged couple comes from a door on the far side. “Congra---tulation?.” They start, unable to continue the sentence upon seeing me and Sif, who steps forward.

“It's good to see you again Rolf, this is our daughter, Robin!”

“WHAAAAAAAT?!”