“El, are you okay?”

“....Un.”

.....El had been feeling a bit weak physically for a while now.

El thought it was only because of exhaustion, but even after taking a few days off El had still not recovered yet.

“You should rest El, I will be fine.”

“But Asa-hime......”

“Focus your energy on recovering, I need El to be on top shape next week after all.”

“.....Un. Then, excuse El.”

El spoke with one of the maids and had her attend Asa-hime in El’s place.

While walking back to El’s room, El encountered Cay-jii.

“Huh, El? Aren’t you supposed to be with the princess at this time?”

“Un, El isn’t feeling well so El was excused.”

“Are you fine? Should I go call a doctor?”

“No need. El just need a bit of rest.”

“Take care of yourself properly okay? After all, the princess’ safety is in your hand next week.”

“Un.”

After saying goodbye to Cay-jii, El made it back to El’s room.

El lied down on the bed for a bit but El was unable to fall asleep.

El’s body feels tired but El’s mind is completely awake.

What should El do.....

Nee is currently out with her friends so El can’t go to Nee.

El also rather not become Fira-nee’s hugging doll for the day.

Muuuu, is there anyone El can talk to about this......

Ahhh, Vecto-jii!

El contacted Vecto-jii through El’s card and he told El to go back to the academy.

It wasn’t much of an issue, though El did feel a bit nauseous.

Its something that commonly happened when El teleported between Earth and Anaria.

“Yahoo El, long time no see.”

“Un.”

“Still as talkative as ever huh? So, what’s the problem? Well, I can somewhat guess what you wanted to talk about just by seeing you.”

“.....?”

Did El look that different?

“Have you been staying in Anaria all this time?”

“Yes.”

“Fumu fumu, I see. I guess that explains it.”

“....?”

Vecto-jii was being more cryptic than usual.

“Your mana is slowly going on a rampage inside your body.”

“....?”

El couldn’t understand what Vecto-jii meant, so El asked Vecto-jii to explained it in an easy to understand way.

“Errrr, lets see..... Too much mana can be harmful, that’s why people would feel sick and even faint in places with high mana density. A child’s body is even more susceptible to this, children tend to develop their mana faster than adults but their body are more fragile in comparison. The growth of mana usually won’t get to a point where it affects a child’s body and as they grow up their body would have no problem taking care of the growth but you’re a special case El.”

“Yes.....?”

“Your mana had been absurdly high in the first place. This wouldn’t have been a problem if you’ve been staying on earth, in fact there’s probably children with the same potential as you out there in this world. Normally those like you would be a bit weak physically but that’ll fade away as they grow up, since due to the lack of mana in the air their mana won’t grow. Still, I didn’t expect you to be living in Anaria so soon. Your mana has been growing rapidly and now its taking its toll on your body.”

“Un, El still don’t get it.”

“Well, its a difficult talk after all.”

Vecto-jii let out a sigh.

“So does Vecto-jii know the solution to El’s problem?”

“Hmmmm..... There’s 3 solutions as far as I know. The safest one would be to completely seal your mana until you grow up.”

“No.”

El immediately rejected the proposal.

“Ehhhh? No, I know you love playing around with magic but you’ll really be in danger if it grows out of control you know?”

“El is working as a guard for the princess. El can’t have El’s mana sealed.”

Especially since next week El will be guarding Asa-hime’s journey to the neighboring kingdom.

“Muuuu, that does complicates things.”

“What are the other options?”

“The second one would be to keep using your mana daily. Still, this is only a temporary solution and will only harm you in the long run. Using your mana constantly will make it grow more and more, and eventually they’ll grow out of control and start hindering your growth. You’ll then be stucked on having to expend a huge amount of mana daily, and it’ll eat up your body in your sleep while you’re recovering your mana and eventually lead to your death. Of course it’ll take a few years to get to that point but its definitely not something I would not reccomend you doing.”

Then why did Vecto-jii even mentioned it......

“The third?”

“Its something that’s not so easy to do. You need to make a contract with a spirit.”

“....?”

So like Nee?

“Spirits absorb mana from the one they’re contracted with to accelerate their growth. If you make a contract with a spirit, then they would be able to manage all your excess mana and even store them for future use. With that said though, of course it has its downsides.”

“Downside?”

“Only a high rank spirit can do that kind of fine tuning for the amount of mana you possess. Its in a high rank spirit’s nature to not let the one they made a contract with use magic that’s not their element so the guns I gave you would be useless.”

Muuuu, that would be a problem.

El has been relying on the versatility of Vecto-jii’s creation.

Teleport is the most important magic given to El but El can’t fight with just teleport.

El’s body is weak after all.

“Well, in the first place making a contract with a spirit is rare anyway.”

“...? But Nee has one.”

“Yes but again, its not a common thing to happen. Honestly, even finding one itself is already a difficult task not to mention spirits are moody creatures. Just because you found one doesn’t neccesarily mean they would make a contract with you.”

“Then what should El do?”

“Even if you ask me that..... As I mentioned the best solution would be to seal your mana until you grow up.”

“Muuuu.....”

El don’t want that.

El can finally not be a burden to Nee thanks to magic.

If El lose that, then El will go back to burdening Nee.

“......El will go find a spirit.”

“Suit yourself, if that’s your decision then I won’t interfere. I’m only supposed to be an observer after all. Feel free to call me whenever you change your mind.”

Vecto-jii dissapeared right after.

Should El ask nee for help?

.....No, El shouldn’t bother Nee.

El want to get searching as soon as possible but El should rest for today.

Tommorow El will start searching for spirits!

 

Un, even though El enthusiastically said so, in the end El had no luck at finding a spirit after 3 days.

In the first place, spirits cannot be seen so how is El supposed to find them?

“El, are you okay?”

“Un.”

El is currently in Asa-hime’s room.

Asa-hime just finished her lessons and is currently free for the rest of the day.

Hmmm, El’s body felt quite sluggish but not to the point where El had difficulty moving.

El should still be fine for a while, though El need to find a spirit as soon as possible.

El still feel a bit conflicted though.

If El made a contract with a spirit then El would have to abandon most of the magic El have.

Muuuu, El can’t imagine living without teleportation anymore.

If El can’t teleport, there will barely be any time where El can meet with Nee.

Is there even a spirit that would let El use teleport?

Teleportation spirit?

But even then El wouldn’t be able to fight.

Since teleport costs a lot of mana, its not like El can use teleport to fight.

Muuuu, would El even be able to guard Asa-hime at that point?

Asa-hime poked at El and showed a piece of paper that wrote “please use soundproof magic”.

Is there something Asa-hime has to speak about in private?

El did as told and used soundproof magic.

“Done.”

“Good. This room should already be soundproof but this is just to be safe. Now, are you troubled with something, El?”

“.....No.”

“Geez, you may be able to see through lies but you are really not good at lying yourself. Is it something you cannot speak about to me?”

“Muuuu.....”

Should El explain El’s condition to Asa-hime?

Its something that El currently has no solution for, it would only be ranting if El were to talk about this to Asa-hime.

“Is it no good?”

“.....Not fair.”

Muuu, Asa-hime is good at persuading with her cuteness.

El ended up spilling everything to Asa-hime.

“Hmmmm, that is quite the predicament. Still, I won’t fire you even if you suddenly lose all your power.”

“But that is why El was recruited in the first place.”

“Yes indeed. It was what started our relationship.”

“Lots of other girls are more capable to tending Asa-hime than El. This is all that El have, the power to protect Asa-hime.”

“Haaaahhh. In the eyes of everyone else that may be so, but not for me.”

El couldn’t understand what Asa-hime meant.

“Don’t understand.”

“Geez, do I have to spell it out for you? You are my dear friend now El, I won’t let them throw you out just like that.”

“Friend?”

Is Asa-hime El’s friend?

“Isn’t Asa-hime El’s master?”

“Muuu, don’t be so stiff. Of course on the surface its like that but at least I see you as my friend. After all, you are the first person ever that I can talk to freely.”

“Asa-hime has no friend?”

“Don’t say it like that! I am a princess after all so I cannot freely make friends with anyone. That would make it as if I am showing a favor to their particular family. In the first place, almost all the noble girls who interacted with me was there to make a connection to the royal family.”

Being a princess, tough.

“I have to pay attention to my appearance and how I act. I cannot even speak freely, I have to pay attention to every word I utter. In exchange my lifestyle and future is basically guaranteed, but even then its not a future I make on my own but one that is already paved for me. I know it sounds like a petty problem compared to those out there who struggle to even get food daily but still......”

“Asa-hime, really talkative today.”

“Muuu, is that all you have to say after I share my feeling like that?”

“.....? Sorry.”

El not sure how El was supposed to respond.

“Its fine, I was just ranting. Still, as I had said, I trust you. I see you as my dear friend. That is why, if there is something troubling you that you cannot talk about to anyone else, you can talk about it to me. Its much better than bottling it up on your own you know? Even now I feel much better after ranting to El. That is why, I would be happy if you would also rely on me more. Whether I can actually help or not is a different matter though.”

“.....Un. El will keep that in mind.”

There are a lot of things El can’t talk about with Nee.

El don’t want to trouble Nee with every little thing, after all Nee will definitely go out of her way to help El if she were to know that there’s something troubling El.

“Now, let us try and solve this together. Two heads are better than one right?”

“Un. El no idea where to start.”

“Indeed. One option is for me to go ask Shirenia-neesama on how she got acquainted with Igret-sama. Still, what spirit would you make a contract with if you can choose? When I was watching you train with the knights, you were using multiple elements right?”

“Un. El adjust what magic to use based on situation. If El can choose, teleportation.”

After all, being able to meet Nee is top priority.

“Then, let us go meet Shirenia-neesama and ask her how she ended up making a contract with Igret-sama.”

“Un.”

After dressing up Asa-hime, we went out and asked one of the patrolling knights where Shirenia-himesama could be.

“Hmmm, I’m pretty sure she’s currently giving audience to the knights at the training ground.”

So said mister knight.

After thanking mister knight, we headed towards the training ground.

Just to be sure El took out one of El’s gun and casted physical strengthening.

El also kept the gun in hand just in case.

El’s guns are normally holstered under the maid skirt so El wouldn’t have enough time to take it out in case something urgent happened.

Depending on the knight group using the training ground, it could get dangerous going there with Asa-hime.

In particular Cure-neechan who can’t hold back with her training, there would be rubbles and swords flying around if we came at a bad timing.

Just before we got to the training ground, a huge explosion can be heard.

El immediately hid Asa-hime behind El and prepared to used a barrier magic.

Thankfully there didn’t seem like there would be anything flying towards us.

“....I do wish the 2nd knight commander learns how to hold back for a bit.”

“....Un.”

We don’t even need to question who could’ve caused that, its definitely Cure-neechan.

Soon after there were sounds of hurried footsteps running towards us.

“Apologies for the rudeness princess, emergency situation so we’re coming through!”

The knight went past us in a hurry, carrying 2 girls who looked to be injured.

Sure enough they didn’t look like knights, they were about as old as Nee.

Looking at it closer, one of them is Ruru-neechan.

El is worried about Ruru-neechan but since they’re in the hands of the knights, they should be fine.

“Let us go in Asa-hime.”

“.....Yes. Sorry to ask but please protect me El.”

“Un.”

Thankfully there wasn’t anything going on when we came in.

Quite a bit of the dust was still around so El used wind magic to blow them away.

Of course El also made sure to protect Asa-hime so none of the dust would even touch her.

Un, El is doing her job properly as Asa-hime’s maid.

On the training ground, Shirenia-himesama can be seen scolding Cure-neechan.

They noticed El and Asa-hime walking towards their direction most likely because of the wind magic El used.

“Ahhh, Asa. What brings you here?”

“Yes, I have something to talk about to Shirenia-neesama, though it seems that Shirenia-neesama is still busy.”

“No, its fine. I was just scolding this commander who never seem to learn the definition of going too far.”

“Muuu, I properly held back and made sure not to kill them~ There shouldn’t be any lasting injury too~”

Cure-neechan was pouting.

“That is still going too far! Moreover they are still students, how can you go and release that much power on your attack!?”

“Frillia told me not to hold go easy on them and use 5% of my power to beat them down after all~”

“It seems like I have to have a conversation with Frillia-sama soon. I know that she is your friend and I do appreciate what she has done for us but the fact is you are still the commander of the 2nd knight order. Please do not take orders from outside.”

“Yes yes~”

“Honestly, if it were not for your contribution, you would already be under heavy punishment for all your acts.”

Shirenia-himesama let out a sigh.

“Anyway Asa, should we go somewhere more appropriate for our chat?”

“Yes.”

We left the training ground and headed back to the castle, more specifically Shirenia-himesama’s room.

“Shirenia-neesama, can El also enter?”

“Yes, I do not mind.”

It is not common for maids like El to enter the room of the royalties like Shirenia-himesama, that’s why El needed permission first to enter.

Its not just that, El normally couldn’t speak before given permission too.

That’s what the other maids taught El.

Of course Asa-hime is an exception since El is Asa-hime’s personal maid, but in public El would also keep silent and only watch unless its absolutely neccesary.

After we entered the room, Shirenia-himesama let out a tired sigh.

“You can speak freely El, I do not mind.”

“Un, thank you.”

“So Asa, what did you want to talk about.”

“Ummm, its about your contract with Igret-sama.”

“Hmmm? For what reason would you like to know?”

Asa-hime looked at El and gave a nod.

Guess Asa-hime wanted El to tell the story.

“El’s body is slowly being eaten away by El’s mana, or so El was told.”

“Body being eaten away by mana.....You mean your body have too much mana now?”

“Un. Shirenia-himesama knew?”

El was quite surprised that Shirenia-himesama understood what El meant by that.

“Its a common story a few tens of years ago. From what I have been taught, it seems like children with high amount of mana would usually be sickly, and in the worst case they would die at an early age. That was why children are not allowed to use magic until they are older.”

“Un. According to Vecto-jii, El’s body can’t handle the amount of mana El has, and unless El seal El’s mana completely or make a contract with a spirit then it can get dangerous.”

“I see. I do not know who this Vecto-jii you are talking about is, but I can understand your reason for asking me about my relation with Igret now.”

“Ohhh, did ya call me?”

Out of thin air, Igret-sama appeared.

“I did not particularly call for you, though I guess it is a fortune for you to come. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, ask me anything.”

“Why did you choose to make a contract with me back then?”

“Hmmm? Isn’t that obvious, because it looked fun!”

“.....I see. So he said.”

Un, El not sure what Igret-sama meant by fun.

“As expected that answer won’t help them. Can you elaborate further Igret?”

“Nothing complicated behind it, us spirits live for a ridiculously long time after all before we dissapear. After a few hundred years, most would tend to get bored. That’s why spirits would mingle with the humans to get some entertainment, in exchange we give them power. Pretty sure most spirits are like me, relieving boredom by making contracts with humans throughout the ages.”

“I see. Indeed, in the eyes of a spirit, the life of a human might as well just be a blink of an eye.”

“Yup, something like that!”

“Muuu.....”

Then there’s no definite way to get a spirit to make a contract with El.

What should El do now.....

“Oh, that little maid there sure has some out of control mana.”

Igret pointed at El.

“You can tell Igret?”

“Of course, high rank spirits like me can see mana no problem.”

El can only rely on luck to encounter a spirit that would make a contract with El, but would El be able to find one in time....

And even then…..

“El, are you fine?”

“Un, fine.”

“Apologies that I cannot help much more than this.”

“Hmmm, what’s all this about?”

Igret-sama looked around, confused.

“Her mana is slowly getting out of control inside her body so she was thinking of making a contract with a spirit.”

“Ahhhh. Can’t help much with that, we spirits rarely make contact with one another after all. Making a contract itself is up to the preference of the spirit too. Some seek to make a contract with battle maniacs, some seek the exact opposite. Me personally, anything is fine as long as it looks fun!”

The rest is up to El then.

“Thank you.”

El gave a thank you to both Asa-hime and Shirenia-himesama.

“Is that all that you want to ask?”

“Yes, Shirenia-neesama. Thank you for sparing the time to talk with us.”

“No need to mind. if you had not come to call me, I would most likely still be scolding the 2nd knight commander. Honestly, I still have a lot to say to her but I will only give myself a headache going any further. I will simply report her conduct to the first knight commander and let him handle the rest. Then, until next time Asa.”

“Yes.”

We left Shirenia-himesama’s room and went back to Asa-hime’s room.

“In the end we did not get any lead.”

“Un.”

“Sorry that I cannot help much”

“Un, its fine. El will take care of the rest.”

El is still fine.

At most El’s body only feel slightly fatigued but El can still move freely.

El should look for a solution soon but it doesn’t have to be now.

This can wait until El finishes escorting Asa-hime on her travel to the neighboring kingdom this weekend.

Asa-hime was not convinced but there was simply nothing else we could do at the moment so she refrained from saying anything.