Volume 2, Chapter 37 – Maiden of Blossoming Grace

“Now, kneel before the Spirit Tree, recite the invocation I taught you, and offer your prayers.”

“Yes.”

The day after the banquet, I was led by Ingolvina-san to the front of the Spirit Tree. Surprisingly, the area around the tree was open to the public, and the villagers had gathered in droves to watch. It was a bit embarrassing to be the center of so much attention.

Oh, and of course, Chris-san, Lu-chan, and Liera-san were there watching too.

“My name is Fiene Argentata. Based upon the ancient covenant, I now seek my ally.”

I knelt, clasped my hands in front of me, and closed my eyes in prayer. Then, something warm enveloped me.

Ah, I get it. This is the Spirit Tree. The Spirit Tree is making contact with me.

Wait, is it asking for something? Ah, I get it—it wants Mana. I’m not entirely sure why, but I had a feeling that was it, so I used my Mana Control skill to send it some holy-attribute Mana.

I felt the Mana enveloping me twitch slightly. It almost felt surprised. Did I do something wrong?

I stopped the holy attribute mana and tried flowing water attribute instead.

It twitched again, so I started cycling through the attributes one after another.

Fire, earth, wind, darkness, and finally, I went back to holy.

The reason I switched back to holy was that I didn’t think my MP would hold out otherwise.

After all, my Holy Magic is at MAX, but everything else is only at 1.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me. Could I do this through Healing Magic too?

Recalling the talk about spirits I’d heard last night, I tried performing Mana Control through Healing Magic as a test.

Oh, it worked! As expected, since Healing Magic is also at MAX, it’s much easier.

While I was doing this, I felt the Spirit Tree begin to pull away from me.

Now then, how did it go?

I opened my eyes and looked up at the Spirit Tree. It was clad in a faint light.

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So? Did it work?

As the light gradually climbed from the roots upward, I saw it gather at a single spot on a branch high above.

The faint light coalesced into a small fruit made of light, which slowly began to swell.

Plop.

The swollen fruit fell from the Spirit Tree toward me. It stopped exactly in front of me, at about chest height.

It was a mysterious fruit shaped like a peach, emitting a white light. It was just about the right size to fit snugly in both my hands.

I reached out and gently, softly cradled the fruit.

It was warm. And somehow, it felt comforting.

As I gazed at it, the fruit emitted a dazzling radiance.

When the light faded, there stood a tiny, tiny, incredibly adorable girl. She had a cherry blossom-like ornament on her head and small transparent wings on her back, and she was staring intently at me.

Her silky long hair was silver-white, with just a hint of pale pink mixed in near the tips. Her eyes were red, and her skin was a translucent white.

She was so cute that I nearly found myself staring, but I proceeded with the contract process as I had been taught.

“My name is Fiene Argentata. I desire a contract with thee.”

I made my declaration to the little girl. In response, she looked at my face and gave a beaming smile. Then, she flew out of my hands and hovered right in front of my face. She gave my cheek a gentle kiss.

Alright, the contract is accepted. Now for the naming.

“I bestow a name upon thee. Thy name shall be Riche.”

I took it from “Felice,” the Italian word for happiness ¹ The name is taken from the “lice” part of Felice, which is pronounced closer to “Lee-che” in Japanese. I chose “Riche” (Rīche – リーチェ) because “Liche” could easily be confused with a Lich.

I had decided from the start that if the spirit was a girl, this would be the name.

Riche smiled happily and emitted a burst of light, as if releasing her power.

A flurry of white and pink petals, like cherry blossoms, suddenly swirled around us.

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Amazing!

I gasped at the beautiful sight.

When the petals finally settled, colorful flowers were blooming all around me.

…

…

Wait, could this be?

No, surely not. There’s no way.

As I stood there frozen in agitation, the Spirit Tree emitted a faint light once more.

Eh? There’s more? I wasn’t told about this!

I looked up, and something fell toward me.

It was a staff. It was made of wood; one end had a white, metal-like ornament adorned with a small red gem. This end was slightly pointed, so it was likely the part that touched the ground.

The other end was adorned with an ornament about the size of a softball, shaped like a flower bud just beginning to open. The petals were overall white, with a faint, pale pink tint.

I took the staff in my hand.

I’ve never used a staff before, so why did it feel so strangely natural in my hands?

As I stared at the staff in my hand, Riche smiled and waved at me.

Hmm? What does that mean?

I gave a vague smile back, not quite understanding, and Riche flew straight toward the bud on my staff and was sucked inside, disappearing.

Eeeeh?! My Riche got eaten?!

I hurriedly peered into the bud, but of course, Riche was nowhere to be seen.

W-w-w-what should I do?!

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Right, this is the time to rely on the wisdom of my predecessors.

“Ingolvina-san!”

I rushed over to her.

“Fiene-dono, congratulations! Thou hast become a figure of legend!”

“Never mind that, Riche was eaten by the staff!”

“Hmm? What art thou talking about?”

“Riche was sucked into the bud at the tip and disappeared!”

“Calm thyself. Riche is the name of thy contract spirit, yes? If so, there is no need for worry. She simply returned to the Spirit Realm using that staff as a medium. She will come immediately if thou callest her; she hath not been eaten. Nor hath she died, so be at ease.”

“Huh?”

Ah, so that’s how it is.

Geez, that scared me. Isn’t it only natural to panic when something suddenly gets sucked into a staff?

“More importantly, thou hast become a figure of legend! Art thou not more joyful?”

“Um, what exactly does that mean?”

“A Flower Spirit. Thou hast contracted with a legendary Flower Spirit. And that staff is the legendary ‘Flower Maiden’s Staff.’ The fact that a Flower Spirit dwells within it is the greatest proof of all.”

“Uuun?”

“Thou art the Saint and hast become the ‘Maiden of Blossoming Grace.'”

“Um…?”

“The ‘Maiden of Blossoming Grace’ is the title bestowed upon those who form a contract with a Flower Spirit. According to legend, the Maiden of Blossoming Grace is granted the mission to travel the lands of the world and purify miasma and defilement. Therefore, I leave things in thy capable hands.”

“…”

Um?

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…

Wait a minute! What the heck is a “Maiden of Blossoming Grace”?! This isn’t a shoujo manga, stop it! I’m too embarrassed to call myself that!

“Fiene-sama, congratulations! As expected of Fiene-sama!”

Chris-san, I’m not happy! I’m not happy at all!

“Onee-sama! Truly amazing. As your sister, I’m beaming with pride! Ah, to think that I am the sister of the legendary Maiden of Blossoming Grace…”

Lu-chan, stop. It’s embarrassing. At least call me a Valkyrie.

Ah, no, wait. Actually, that’s also embarrassing, so I think I hate that too.

“A Saint and the Maiden of Blossoming Grace, how wonderful. As your foster mother, I’m so proud to have such a wonderful daughter.”

Liera-san. Please stop. I do not want to be the foster daughter of a monster. I’m begging you. Please, spare me.

“Hmph. Fiene-dono is so moved that she cannot even speak. Hahaha. Well, this is likely thanks to the good deeds thou hast accumulated, and the talent thou displayed while offering thy prayers to the Spirit Tree.”

As I remained speechless, struggling with how to react, Ingolvina-san said something I didn’t quite follow.

“Um?”

“Thou hast saved many people as a Saint Candidate, hast thou not? The Mummy Disease, the liberation of slaves. Furthermore, I watched thy communion with the Spirit Tree; thou handled holy, water, fire, earth, wind, and even darkness. Moreover, the final mana thou used was something even I have never seen. Surely the Spirit Tree recognized thy worth and entrusted this to thee. Thou shouldst be proud.”

“Eeeeh…”

Translator Note

In this chapter, I just made Ingolvina’s voice “ Archaic English “.

I can do that in the old chapters but it will kill my head.

I’ll use this sometimes~

Dead.