After that meeting, my family started visiting the lake daily. Chris managed to acquire spirits of all elements except for wind, and Alan managed to acquire a fire sword spirit. Our parents were so busy with work that they couldn’t spend as much time there as we did, but while they didn’t gain any new spirits themselves, their current spirits were growing well now that they were making sure to feed them plenty of mana.
As for me? Well, I’d caught them all! Fire, water, wind, and earth spirits were all twirling around my shoulders now.
Everyone was looking at me with respect for my achievement, but honestly, the spirits could be kind of annoying. Any time we were having a meal, they would all start playing around with each other, so the table was always rowdy, with these balls of light flying everywhere.
Are you children or something? Will you calm down when you get bigger? Now that I thought about it, in comparison with my new spirits, the fire and water spirits that had been contracted to me since I was a baby didn’t fly around very much.
We’d made sure to have the birthday party guests sign a magic contract. There were far more people attending than I’d assumed; there were the families of important persons within our domain, and families with children around my and my brothers’ ages, so even only counting the children, there were around fifty guests. Add in the adults, and it was closer to two hundred.
We started by gathering everyone in the great hall and giving a simple explanation before bringing them to the lake. The water was a mystical turquoise color, glittering in the sunlight. We were headed to a meadow filled with colorful blossoms, which was located in the middle of a forest. There were paths made from fine gravel and seating areas furnished with wooden tables and chairs, all set up carefully so as to disturb the natural setting as little as possible.
Sebas had told me that my grandparents used to have guests here all the time when they were children—proving my point yet again. As I’d suspected, there had been a time in the past when it had been natural for children to gather here to meet spirits. Really, that meant it hadn’t even been that long ago—but I remembered that in my previous life, I personally hadn’t asked very much about the times before the war, so I wasn’t one to talk.
Chris led the children down the path while answering questions from his friends.
With one hand held by Alan and the other by Rex, I was being dragged along like a captured extraterrestrial on her way to the lab. Since it was an outside party, my outfit today was one that was easy to move around in—an airy calf-length mint-green dress with white sleeves and collar, complemented by white socks. Many of the girls were wearing similarly bright dresses, and the boys were wearing shirts and trousers with light jackets so they could easily run around.
One day, I would have to pick my ladies-in-waiting and retainers from among these children. Children born to knights, or to barons or viscounts—nobles who either held no territory or held only a very small amount—tended to become the retainers, bodyguards, or ladies-in-waiting of more affluent nobles. It was there that they would receive further education, and then if they were successful, go on to become staff of the imperial palace or find a loving partner and get married.
That was why their decision of whom to serve was important. It was impossible to network if your master didn’t hold enough power in social circles. I doubted there would be many boys who would choose to serve me over my brothers—their future prospects wouldn’t be the brightest with me. At least with ladies-in-waiting, I could become friends with them as fellow girls and help them find someone to marry. Playing Cupid actually sounded fun.
The weather was nice, and the temperature was hot for spring, so it was the perfect day for a breezy garden party.
When we arrived at the lake, the children did as instructed, strolling through the abundant nature while slowly releasing their mana and talking to the spirits. We had tables set up with food where they could go and rest when they got bored or tired. It almost felt like we were a cult with how many people were gathered. I’d expected the guests to be totally skeptical or mock what we were doing, but surprisingly, a good number of them were taking it seriously, especially the kids that were currently pursuing higher education—they didn’t want to lose to their rival domains, after all. They would’ve just learned how to use magic as well, so they were likely more desperate to gain some new spirit companions.
With Chris able to show off his newly acquired spirits, and Alan demonstrating how his hands glowed with the rare sword spirits he had obtained, everyone was filled with motivation.
What about me? Oh, they just all looked at me like I was a monster. A four-year-old having the mana capacity needed to raise spirits of all four elements was apparently unheard of. I was probably the one with the most mana in the castle, honestly. I hadn’t been using up my mana every day since I was born for nothing, you know.
After another hour, the guests were starting to catch their first spirits. Unsurprisingly, it tended to be those who were already learning magic at school or used magic for their jobs. There were those who had managed to find sword spirits after following Alan’s advice too.
“There’s no need to rush. Make sure to rest so you don’t use up all of your mana.”
“As long as you children have at least one spirit by the time you graduate, you’re fine. There’s no pressure to have more.”
I could hear Chris’s and my father’s voices from afar.
Growing worried when you saw the people around you succeeding while you still hadn’t was entirely understandable. But seriously, with this many people managing to form a contract with spirits no problem, how little had they been talking to them before now?
People can’t use magic back in Japan even though we wish we could. There aren’t even spirits there. You’re living in such a beautiful world, so put more effort into becoming friends with the spirits!
They’d probably started taking the spirits for granted because they were such a natural part of their world.
“Um, excuse me...”
Someone called out to me as I circulated, helping the children that looked to be struggling. When I turned around, I was greeted by a beautiful girl who looked just like a doll. She had silvery hair and sharp blue eyes.
“I understand it is really quite rude for me to strike up a conversation like this, but...”
“Didn’t you hear my father say that such manners are unnecessary today?” I reminded her with a smile. “There is no need for you to worry.”
“Of course. My name is Iris, and I am the oldest daughter of Baron Lloyd. I hope you are having a wonderful birthday.”
“Thank you very much. How old are you, Miss Iris?”
“Five,” she told me.
“Oh my, you’re a year older than me, then. Let’s become good friends.”
“Yes! Um, and...”
“You’re struggling to find a spirit, aren’t you? What kind of spirit would you like?”
“Water...?” she murmured.
Why does she sound so uncertain?
Really, though, this girl was adorable. Noble children were often quite beautiful, largely because their parents had the money and power to choose beautiful wives or mistresses. But this girl was a standout even among them. She also came across as very honest and upright.
Would you like to come marry my brother? I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why your parents asked you to talk to me.
“Oh, look, look, they’re gathering. Just add a bit more mana to your palms.”
“Like this? Oh, it lit up!”
“That’s your water spirit. Talk to them and become friends—then they’ll join you.”
“Will you become my friend?” she asked in her soft voice.
The way she tentatively asked the question with a tilt of her head was also adorable. I wish I could take pictures here.
At some point, her parents had come to watch over their daughter with trepidation, but before long, the spirit had had enough mana and landed joyfully on the girl’s shoulder.
“Oh, how wonderful, Iris,” Lady Lloyd congratulated her.
“Yes, it is all thanks to Lady Deirdre instructing me.”
“Thank you so much, Lady Deirdre,” Baron Lloyd said.
“Not at all. I believe Miss Iris would even be able to raise a spirit of another element alongside her water one.”
“Is that so?” Lady Lloyd asked, then added, “How blessed we are.”
“Please be good friends with our Iris.”
Whoa, not so forward, please. I understood that everyone here wanted to befriend us, but why were they saying that to the four-year-old and not her family?
“We would greatly appreciate it if you would let our daughter remain by your side, Lady Deirdre,” Iris’s mother cooed.
No, seriously, say that to my parents.
“I never imagined the young lady would be as cute as a little fairy,” someone else added.
“I’ve never seen someone who’s acquired spirits of all elements before,” another person chimed in.
“I’m excited to see what she achieves in the future,” yet another parent declared.
Stop, stop, stop! Can all the adults not surround me like this? What? You’re all after me? C’mooooon!
“Please halt. We will arrange a time for you to have these discussions, so please, I must request that all adults head over in that direction!” Rex and Brad kindly chased away all the adults that had begun gathering around me. The other valets also cooperated, and we somehow managed to turn it into a kids-only zone again.