4. A Tiny Spirit

At that moment, I was being held inside of Lady Noel’s room, on the second floor of the Wisteria family’s villa. Despite her being injured trying to protect me, Martha was tied up on the floor. Lady Noel and her maids were also tied up, although they were sitting. There were three men in black standing around watching us.

Thanks to the ring-shaped magic tool that Lord Glen had given me, I was neither injured nor tied up, only sitting on the couch. But under threat of further injury to the others if I moved, I couldn’t do anything.

What should I do... I thought to myself.

Crossing my hands in front of myself as if in prayer, I worried over everything that had happened. While I did, I saw a small speck of light flicker by. I followed it around with my eyes until it came around and stopped flickering in front of me.

«Mice to neet you, Lady Chelsea! I’m a Stowage Spirit... No, I’m a Communicashon Spirit,» said the little Spirit with great difficulty.

A Communication Spirit? Like one from my personal storage room in the Spirit World? But I thought that Ele said the Spirits in charge of my storage were ranked too low to come to our world...?

«Since I told tha king how you were, my rank went up, and I can come owt now!» I was shocked when it seemed to answer the question I’d just thought. «I can heer since I’m a Communicashon Spirit! Everythin’ you think, I heer!»

I nearly let out a yelp out of surprise, but I quickly held my mouth closed with my crossed hands. For the time being, I understood that this little light was a Communication Spirit. But there was something I was more confused about at the moment—wouldn’t the men see the strange light in front of me as suspicious, and hurt Lady Noel and the others?

«Don’t wowwy, Lady Chelsea! You’re the only won who can see me!»

If they can’t see the Spirit, then there’d be no reason for the men to suspect me.

«I came owt to tell you somethin’!»

A message? I looked straight at the tiny light as it started flickering again.

«I told tha king you were in trubble, and he told Prins Glen.»

Huh? So that means...

«Help is on tha way! Don’t wowwy!»

My expression softened as soon as I heard that. The hands that I crossed to hide my mouth moved to hide my face instead. Thanks to the relief the news gave me, my thoughts became a little more clear.

If help is on the way, then it’d be best to stay where I am. But is there anything I could do while I wait? As I thought that, my eyes landed on Martha. She was still on the ground after being thrown to the corner of the room by the tall man. A pained expression was on her face, so she likely incurred a scrape or bruise from earlier.

I can heal Martha! But since I didn’t know what the men would do if I moved around on my own, I decided to ask if I could check on her. If I was able to get permission, I could get a Potion Seed out of my Spirit storage and have her drink it. The yellow Potion Seeds, like Elixir Seeds and Aopo Seeds, were round with little corks in them, and drinking one would heal all wounds.

But there would be one problem with that: if I got it out normally, the seed would just pop into existence in front of my eyes. That would probably make the men suspicious... What to do...

«I’ll go tell tha others to make it appear in your hand!» whispered the little Communication Spirit, shining bright for a second before disappearing. A moment later, the light returned. «I told tha Stowage Spirits! It’ll appear right in your pawm, same hand as tha bracelet!»

After giving the Spirit a little nod, I uncrossed my hands and squeezed my fists tight. Be brave, Chelsea!

“Um... Excuse me!” I spoke, looking towards the plump man beside Martha.

“Whaddya want?” the plump man grunted. It might have been because I’d stayed quiet until then, but he looked at me suspiciously.

“I won’t leave the room... So please, allow me to check on Martha’s wounds.”

Martha looked at me in shock when I said that, while the plump man glanced towards the tall man and the thin man, who both nodded.

“She’s got nothin’ to do with it, so sure.”

“Thank you very much.”

After thanking the man, I slowly approached Martha before sitting beside her.

“Lady Chelsea...” she whimpered. I felt my chest tighten hearing her.

“Thank you so much for defending me...” I whispered, only for her to start to tear up.

I put my left hand in my pocket, since my bracelet was on my left wrist. As I internally willed for the Spirits to give my Potion Seed back, it popped out in the palm of my hand. I pulled it out as if it had always been in my pocket.

“Drink this,” I ordered quietly, pulling the little cork out of the seed and putting it to her lips. Once I saw her throat move, I quickly pulled it away.

Martha looked shocked for a second, looking up at me.

«‘Lady Chelsea’s medicine is amazing! It doesn’t hurt anymow, but they’d get suspishus if I suddenly wasn’t in pain, so I’ll fake it...’ is what she’s thinkin’,» reported the Communication Spirit, stopping above Martha’s head. At the same moment, her face warped in fake pain.

I gave her a small nod to tell her I understood what she was doing before heading back to the couch. As soon as I sat down, I heard a scuffle from outside. I could hear metal on metal, and shouting.

«Help is here!»

I made sure not to let my joy show on my face when the Communication Spirit spoke again.

“I’ll go help the others,” the tall man muttered after glancing out the window. He left the room shortly after. This left us with just the plump man and the thin man.

I glanced over at Lady Noel and saw she was smiling. The Spirit floated over to above her head.

«‘Getting owt of ties is part of a lady’s etiquette... I’m gonna knock’em down!’ is what she thought. What does she mean?»

Huh? The second I thought that, Lady Noel slipped right out of the ropes binding her, and tackled the plump man from behind. It was so sudden that the man couldn’t even react, and fell to the floor. Once he was down, she started stomping on him.

The thin man immediately moved from his spot beside the opposite wall...only for Martha to trip him.

When I saw them both on the floor, I quickly whispered my Skill name. “I’ll make a seed—[Seed Creation]!”

With a light pop, a big black, palm-sized, teardrop-shaped seed appeared. What I had wished for was the big anti-monster Venus flytrap I’d thought of back in the greenhouse.

I need to plant it somewhere...! I quickly shoved the seed in the soil under one of the bigger houseplants by the sofa. It sprouted immediately, roots thickening so much they broke the pot. The sprout split into five parts, with leaves big enough to close over a human. The roots split into four parts, standing on the ground like human or animal legs.

I blinked a few times in surprise as one of the leaves faced me and gave something that looked like a bow. I returned it out of instinct.

The big Venus flytrap quickly snatched up the thin man from the floor, trapping him between its leaves. The man flailed, unable to even get a word out.

“Gaah!” The plump man, still free, looked at the plant and shrieked in fear.

Lady Noel looked surprised, but seemed to quickly grasp what was happening. She stopped stomping on the man and backed a few steps away.

The Venus flytrap gave her a little bow before capturing the plump man between its leaves too. Both of the men’s extremities were very closely avoiding the thorny bits on the leaves, so they were uninjured. But they were completely immobile. The plant lifted them up all the way to the ceiling, before slamming them down just barely above the floor.

Is it just me, or does it look like it’s having fun...?

While I was busy thinking that, Lady Noel moved to untie the maids as she yelled, “This is our chance to run!”

I hurried to untie Martha too. “Thank you very much,” she said just as the door to the room slammed open.

I stiffened up for a moment, thinking it was more of the men in black, but Lord Glen was the one to rush in.

“Chelsea!” he cried, running up and pulling me in for a hug. He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck and whispered, “Thank goodness you’re okay...” I could barely hear him, but I could tell just how worried he had been.

“The ring you gave me kept me safe. Thank you so much,” I told him, squeezing him right back. We stayed like that for a while before someone cleared their throat behind us.

Wait, we’re in Lady Noel’s room, and we aren’t alone...! I wiggled a bit, so Lord Glen let me go.

“Guess there’s not much I can do about this right now...” he muttered, looking a little bit lonely before his gaze fell behind me. I slowly turned back as he did.

Lady Noel was staring at us, hiding her bright red face behind her hands. Martha had a hand on her hip and an angry expression on her face. Lady Noel’s maids were looking away, pretending they hadn’t seen anything. The men in black were still caught limply between the giant Venus flytrap’s leaves as it shook them up and down. It used its last three leaves to bow to Lord Glen.

“There’s a lot of things I want to ask, but I’ll save them for later,” he said, a complicated look on his face.

＋＋＋

In the end, the men in black who attacked Marquis Wisteria’s villa were captured thanks to the efforts of the knights that Lord Glen brought, and Ele wreaking havoc in his Spirit form. The two men who were in Lady Noel’s room and caught by the big Venus flytrap had Mana Sealing Bracelets slapped on their wrists before they were set free. They wobbled their way out, now in custody.

Marquis Wisteria, Lady Noel, and the maids and butlers working in the villa were all immediately taken in for questioning. I would need to be questioned too, but because I was a minor and not a resident of the villa, I was sent back to the lodging house and told to rest first.

As the sun set, I watched the street lamps and the light from buildings through the carriage window. Lord Glen still had work to do at the scene, so Martha—who had come as my chaperone—and I were the only ones inside the carriage.

Martha was always so talkative, but all she’d done this ride was sit silently with her head down. Should I say something...? I thought to myself as I looked towards her, only for a little light to start flashing.

«‘I came as a chaperown, but I’m not werthy of being a maid after scaring Lady Chelsea like that... I’ve really done somethin’ bad...’ is what she’s thinking,» relayed the Communication Spirit reading her thoughts.

“You really saved me by coming today. Thank you so much, Martha.”

Her head shot up at my words. “I should be the one thanking you, Lady Chelsea. You healed my wounds!” she said, tearing up. “Thank you so very much.”

Martha bowed deeply. When she straightened up, I saw that she must have cried a bit, because her eyes were wet. I nodded back to her, accepting her thanks.

“And, um, there’s something I’d like to ask!” she forced out after dabbing the tears left in her eyes with a handkerchief. “Wasn’t the medicine you had me drink to heal my wounds incredibly expensive?”

I made it with my Skill [Seed Creation], so rather than being expensive, it was completely free...

“No, it wasn’t,” I said, shaking my head.

Martha’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Something that could heal my wounds in a second... Not even just the parts that hurt after slamming into the wall, but my rough hands too... It has to be expensive! I might need to split it into installments, but I’ll pay for it!” she cried, bowing again.

“It was just a seed I made with my Skill...” Now that I thought about it, she’d seen me use my Skill to make seeds a number of times, but I’d never explained what the seeds themselves were before.

After I gave her another explanation of my Skill [Seed Creation], Martha’s eyes widened in shock. “So that was a seed you created...”

“Yes.” I nodded.

She suddenly started in realization. “Could it be that the big-leafed plant that caught those men was from another seed you’d created?”

“That’s right. It grew from a seed I made using the Venus flytrap we saw in the carnivorous plant section of the greenhouse as reference.”

Martha’s eyes opened wide in shock, and she pressed her hands against her cheeks. The strange face she was making was sort of funny.

“Your Skill is truly amazing, Lady Chelsea! It was a plant, but it moved around, and bowed, didn’t it?!”

I learned this after Lord Glen came, but the big Venus flytrap could use its thick roots to walk—and after letting the men it had caught go, it wandered the Wisteria Villa’s gardens. Then, when it found a tilled plot that hadn’t had seeds planted in it yet, it replanted itself.

“I hadn’t thought that I could make any moving plants, so I was shocked as well.”

“Lady Chelsea, your Skill has infinite possibilities!” praised Martha, beaming.

I could create any seed I wished for. If I could create a plant that could walk on its own, what else was possible to make?

“Since you’ve made a walking plant, why not a flying plant next? Or maybe a plant that can get you things you can’t reach. Something that could become a step stool would be a good idea too. Oh, oh, and what about plants that can cook or clean?”

And so, for the entire carriage ride back to the lodging house, Martha kept suggesting all sorts of plants I’d never imagined before.

If they’d be of help to everyone, then it might be worth creating them. I decided to discuss it with Lord Glen and Lord Tris as part of our Skill research.

＋＋＋

“We’re home.”

As soon as Martha and I stepped inside my room at the Royal Research Institute lodging house, Gina and Miss Micah came to greet us.

“Welcome home, Lady Chelsea.”

“Welcome home, Chelsea~! We were worried about you!”

Gina was teary-eyed, while Miss Micah’s tail was pointed straight up in nervousness.

“Before His Highness left, he told us that you were being held somewhere... You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“Not at all,” I replied, shaking my head.

“We were sure you’d be tired when you got home, so I made something that would help against exhaustion for your dinner~!” said Miss Micah, glancing towards the wall to the right. That was where the little tiny kitchen had been, but now the wall had been broken down to connect to the room next door.

“Huh?” I gasped.

I knew they’d be renovating the kitchen, but I had no idea they were going to use the room next door for it. What happened?!

Miss Micah’s tail wagged as I stood there in shock. “After I said I wanted it big enough that you could cook with me, this happened~!”

“The room next door was empty anyway, so we had them make the kitchen into an entire separate room,” Gina told me, her imperative smile completely different from the expression she had on before.

“I-I see.” Somehow I felt like I shouldn’t dig any deeper, so I just nodded.

Since it was so late, my dinner was given to me right away. The still-steaming food was brought out of the kitchen on a cart and placed on the dining table. After saying my prayers to the earth gods, I immediately started eating. Or I would have, had my food not been so hot.

The pork and asparagus gratin really was fresh from the oven, and I had to blow on it a few times to cool it down before I ate it. There was also some delicious cream soup with lots of mushrooms that tasted comforting. And last, but certainly not least, my dessert was unbaked cheesecake with lots of strawberry sauce.

“It’s so delicious...” I murmured to myself, only for Miss Micah to start wagging her tail beside me.

“I can make whatever food you want now~ If there’s anything you’d like, just tell me!”

Something I want to eat... Hmm? Since I had just finished eating, nothing was coming to mind.

“I’ll tell you when I think of anything,” I replied, getting another happy tail wag.

＋＋＋

After I’d changed into my nightgown and was ready to go to bed, there was a sudden knock on my door. Apparently Lord Glen had come to see me, so I quickly pulled a cardigan over myself and went to greet him.

“Please excuse my rudeness for greeting you wearing this,” I apologized, only for him to look away.

“No, it’s my fault for coming so late...”

Lord Glen was still wearing the same clothes I’d seen him in at the Wisterias’s villa, and he looked absolutely exhausted.

“Why don’t you come sit...”

“Nah, I won’t be here that long.”

It was rare for him not to accept my invitation to come sit down inside. Is something the matter? When I looked up at him in confusion, he gave me a gentle smile back.

“I just wanted to give you this,” he said, pulling a little paper package out of seemingly nowhere...or rather, from his Item Box. I accepted it, smelling something nice from inside. “Since sometimes people have nightmares or trouble sleeping after a scare, I brought you some lavender potpourri to help you sleep.”

The lavender potpourri was in a little pink cloth bag that sat right in the palm of my hand. He brought this because he was worried about me...!

“Thank you very much. I’ll be careful with it,” I said, thanking him with a smile.

A blush spread over his cheeks. “Seeing you enjoy it so much makes me happy too.”

We spent a few moments smiling at each other before I heard Gina clear her throat.

“I wasn’t intending to stay long. Now that I’ve seen you’re all right, I’ll get going,” Lord Glen said, lifting my right hand to kiss the back of it. “Good night, Chelsea.”

Since this was the first time he’d ever touched me like that, I just stood there embarrassed with my lips flapping as he left the room.

＋＋＋

Thanks to the lavender potpourri, I was able to sleep soundly and nightmare free. The morning after, I was to be questioned in my personal lab during my daily mana pool-growing tea party.

Since Lord Glen wanted to question everyone alone if possible, Martha left the room after serving our tea and sweets. The only ones left inside were Lord Glen, myself, and a knight standing in front of the door. Apparently the knight had been among those who came to the rescue the day before.

“Okay, so about yesterday... Can you tell me what first made you realize something was wrong?”

“Yes,” I replied, nodding.

Then I told him everything that transpired yesterday... About how Lady Noel rushed out of the room after we heard something breaking and a man screaming. How as soon as she came back, the men forced their way in, leading to Martha being injured while protecting me. Also, how the men said that “the Proxy” spoke of me. Everything I could remember.

“The Proxy, huh...” Lord Glen murmured.

“I recall hearing of her multiple times while we were in the Radzuel Empire, but...who is she?” I asked, only for him to look back at me, blinking.

“Oh yeah, I didn’t talk to you about her, did I? The Proxy is supposedly the person who worked with the Spirit King Ele to bring prosperity to the world during the age of mythology, after the gods created the world.”

The age of mythology was long past. Is the Proxy still alive? If she is, why isn’t Ele with her? Tons of questions popped up inside my brain before disappearing.

“Let’s leave the Proxy stuff for later and get back on topic...”

I nodded at his words, and continued telling him about what happened in Lady Noel’s room.

“Then the Communication Spirit appeared...”

Lord Glen gave me a confused look when I said that.

Since the Spirit was flickering on top of the teapot, I gestured to it and said, “It’s this little light right here...”

«Tha only ones who can see me are other Spirits and Lady Chelsea!» the Communication Spirit declared proudly, for some reason.

Lord Glen’s expression changed. “I just heard a voice,” he said, looking curious as he reached out towards the teapot that I’d just pointed to. The Spirit dodged his hand, floating up. “...I should probably get the details from Ele, huh.”

As soon as he said that, the Communication Spirit started spinning through the air. «I’ll call for tha king!» it cried before disappearing into the Spirit Tree bracelet on my left wrist.

A moment later, Ele appeared to the side of the table in his cat form.

«What do you want?» he asked, hopping up into the seat beside me and yawning.

“I can’t see the Communication Spirit, so I can’t appraise it. Can you tell me more about it?”

«Oho...? So even you cannot see it, Glen? That’s interesting.»

After widening his eyes in surprise, the cat-formed Spirit cackled. It’s really weird seeing a cat laugh... I thought. Once he was finished laughing, Ele floated into the air.

«The Communication Spirit that you cannot see is of the lowest rank able to appear in this world,» he explained as he lightly poked at the other Spirit with a paw. «Normally, low-ranked Spirits move based on their own principles, or on orders from higher-ranking ones. But sometimes, those who do something for someone else’s sake appear.»

The Communication Spirit screeched and laughed in glee every time Ele’s paw touched it.

«When those Spirits continue taking action for another’s sake, their rank rises, and they become higher-ranking Spirits.»

“So this Communication Spirit acted for Chelsea’s sake?” Lord Glen asked, getting a nod from the Spirit.

«Indeed. It was originally one of the Spirits caring for Lady Chelsea’s personal storage room. After reporting on her status a number of times, its rank rose.»

Now that I thought about it, I remembered that one of the Storage Spirits warned the Spirit of Fire, Irene, that we were being attacked by the fake fortune-teller on the way back to the Sargent Margraviate from the Radzuel Empire.

«Due to its new rank, it became able to come to this world, but only as a small light for now.» Ele gave it a big push with his paw, and the little Communication Spirit started floating around the room. «If it continues to be of help, it may become tangible.»

“I’ve got the gist about the Communication Spirit, so I’ll get back to questioning,” said Lord Glen, turning to look at me again.

After giving him another nod, I continued recounting what happened after the Spirit appeared. “Once the Spirit told me that help was on the way, I decided to wait inside the room.”

I explained that I wanted to do anything I could while I waited, and asked the men if they’d let me tend to Martha’s wounds. Lord Glen blinked at me in confusion.

“You negotiated with the attackers...? Weren’t you scared?”

“Now that I think back to it... I wasn’t afraid after I realized they couldn’t hurt me,” I answered.

He groaned. “That’s probably thanks to what you endured back in the Eucharis Barony, huh.”

Back at the barony, physical abuse like being whipped was the norm, and I never had a day free of pain. Pain was scary, but as long as it didn’t hurt, I wasn’t scared. That line of thinking might have taken root deep inside my heart.

“So? How did you tend to her wounds?”

“I had a Potion Seed sent to the inside of my pocket, and had Martha drink it,” I said, willing the return of a Potion Seed. The yellow seed with its little cork popped into existence on my palm. “This is the seed I’d given her to drink.”

When I showed Lord Glen the seed, he gave me a wry smile. “Another amazing seed, eh?”

«Its effect of healing all wounds isn’t much different from an Elixir Seed.»

Elixir Seeds cured all illnesses, while Potion Seeds healed all wounds. In my mind, they were different. Am I wrong?

Ele, still in his cat form, let out a big sigh at my look of confusion. «As far as I am aware, there are no drinkable medicines that heal wounds.»

“Huh?”

“Most medications that heal wounds are topical, and take a few days to heal, at that. The only thing that should fully heal wounds is the [Cure] Skill.”

«Which means... We must hide the Potion Seed’s existence, just as we have the Elixir Seed.»

So we have to hide it just like the Elixir and Aopo Seeds... My shoulders drooped at the realization.

“Can you tell me what happened next?”

I nodded. “Once I’d taken care of her wounds, we heard a fuss outside... One of the men in the room left, so Lady Noel freed herself from her bonds and pinned one of the remaining two down, while Martha tripped the other. I thought that I should help as well, so I created a new seed and planted it in a pot.”

The Wisterias’s villa had a wonderful botanical garden. And I’d seen the carnivorous Venus flytrap there. I told Lord Glen how I’d thought of planting them in places where monsters appeared in order to catch them, and that I made them follow my orders to stop them from accidentally catching people.

When I finished explaining my idea, he started chuckling like a demon lord. “Ha ha ha. For catching monsters, huh? That thought came so naturally to you, since the Sargent Margraviate borders the Demonic Forest and its monsters.”

“Yes.”

“I used [Appraise] on the big Venus flytrap after it replanted itself in the garden, and the results said that it catches those who threaten you,” Lord Glen continued, pulling the palm-sized, teardrop-shaped black seed from his Item Box. “We got a report that it withered overnight and left a single seed. This one.”

So the big Venus flytrap that used its leaves to bow ended up withering...

“If you plant this, it’ll protect you whenever you need it. Keep it safe for emergencies.”

I took the teardrop-shaped black seed and caressed it. “Understood. I’ll have the Storage Spirits hold it,” I murmured, and the big Venus flytrap seed vanished.