Qatar was a small town surrounded by deserts and sand dunes.
　Although it was a neighboring town, the area beside the institute was not a desert area, but just a miscellaneous plain.
　Well, you could think of it as the Tottori Dunes.

　It seems that Patrick's long-awaited summoning of the spirit requires about eight ingredients, and it will take some time to purchase them.
　I had come to a certain bar to kill time.

''Excuse me, can you give me one recommendation?''
Then I'll have Kenji's whiskey.
What, Kenji?
Yeah, 5,000 riots a pop. I only brought it out here for you because you said it was good, don't you want some?

　I was completely ripped off.
　This wasn't Rashausen.
　I should have been more cautious.
　But you might want to give it a try.
　The price was pricey, though.
　I took a whiskey poured into what looked like a wine glass, and gently sipped -.

''--It's so good!
Of course. It is, after all, Kenji's whiskey.
What's that Kenji you're talking about?
What, you don't know? Kenji's whisky, as we call it around here because he made it, is apparently from Gagaku. I don't know much about it, but it is made by the distillation method of Gagaku. I don't know much about it, but it's made by the distillation method from Xiquiqu, and sometimes I come in with other drinks.

　The wholesalers didn't know anything about it either, which was strange.
　Well, anything goes as long as it's good.

Master, I'll have what he has. I'll have what he's having, and I'll have what he's having.
Yes!

　I saw a figure in the seat next to me.

Will you excuse me?
Go ahead....

　A man took a seat.
　It was a man with long dark green hair.
　The white skin, which even feels cold, exudes a mysterious atmosphere that is hard to describe.

'Oh, you're a student?'

　A sweet low temperature voice asked. Apparently he could see his uniform through the cracks in his robe.

'Yes,'
Yeah. Youth is a mirage, enjoy it for what it is.

　I had to hide my uniform, but this was a different world and I didn't need to worry about it.

''So you're a Heilkwaite student, what are you studying now?
Well, you know, like an attack spell that can be used by healers?

　He replied with a bitter smile.

'That's an interesting story. Are you a healer, by any chance?
Well as a matter of fact it is.
I see.
'So I go to the library and look for books on healers. But I'm ashamed to say that I can't read at all.
When you say you can't read, do you mean, for example, the Yeast script?　Or else....
'I'm not sure, but I think that's it,' he said appropriately.
I don't know.

　He's a strange man.
　I had a feeling that if I talked to this person, he would solve everything.
　It's like there's no need to lie, or something like that...

'Yes. It's something to do with the fact that we met here, and I have one for you.
The good stuff?
Yeah, so close your eyes.

　Normally I would have hesitated for a moment.
　But I did as I was told and closed my eyes.

"Come on, open your eyes.

　I close my eyes and after about a second I hear a voice.
　I gently open my eyes, but there's nothing on the counter.
　What is the good stuff?

'Um....'
Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it now, you got it from me.
'Huh...'
You like to drink, by the way, don't you?
'Well, yes. I drink a lot.
I like it, too, because it brings me back to the past.

　For a moment, I thought the person pouring the whiskey down his throat looked somewhat sad.

'And yet you have a hell of a lot of magic for being still a student.

　The man put down his empty glass on the counter and said.

'Where in the world do you have that kind of power?'

　I saw the person's eyes.
　The person's eyes, which were glowing red, were....
　I couldn't help but stare, and then he looked right back at me.

You know what I mean?　Apparently, a dungeon has appeared.
A dungeon?
It's the Maycus that lures adventurers.

　Apparently there's some kind of RPG product like that in this world.

'Could it be that you are on your way to that dungeon?
Me?　No, I'm not going. I've already been to the dungeon.
'I see. So does that mean you've been attacked?

　I've heard from the Toa before.
　He said a dungeon is a labyrinth.

'Well, I'm not so sure about that. Sure, that's what everyone called us at the time, but...

　The man got up from his seat.

'Oh, are you going to go now?'
I've got some work to do. I'm glad I ran into you here. It's nice to get out of the house once in a while.
....

　Suddenly I remembered.
　It was repeating itself in my head now.

-- "And yet you have a hell of a lot of magical powers, even though you're still a student.

You'll have to see for yourself what the dungeon is, Nito-kun.
How did you know my name?

　But when I turned around, that person was no longer at the table.
　I looked around the restaurant, but he was nowhere to be found.
　He got up from his seat and stood there stunned.

'Sir, would you like another drink?'
No, no, not at all.

　I finished my whiskey and left the shop, not knowing what to expect.

*

There's no room for it.

　I met up with Patrick, who had finished his purchases and was taking a break from time at a coffee shop in town.
　It's a continuation of the break for me.
　They're going to do the spirit summoning at night, since there's a lot of people on the streets during the day.

''That's not a problem, I've already made up my mind.

　Patrick's response, if it's most things, is something like this. I'm ready.
　He was probably thinking about it long before I got in.

"Hey, Nito, do you smell like booze?

　Patrick was trying to figure out where the smell came from.
　He used magic to sober him up just in case.

'Maybe it's me. I've been to the tavern.
Then ask me to join you.
A prince can't go to a tavern.
You're a student now, and it doesn't matter if you're a prince or not.

　Come to think of it, Mr. Arnold was sneaking in and out of the tavern, too.

''The sun is going down, and we'd better get going.

　It was dusk at the hour.
　That sunset was already beginning to fall.

'Going where?'
'The forest is right there, we'll do the summoning there. We won't have to worry about being seen there.

　The forest is an oasis, apparently.
　During the daytime, it's something that people come and go, but as the sun goes down, it becomes less and less popular, and at night it's completely deserted.

The monsters come out at night. People in town don't want to go near it, but it's basically nothing to worry about. It's surrounded by trees, so the light doesn't leak out, and it's a good place to summon them. I've even cased the place beforehand, so there's no problem.

　Patrick's words were compelling.
　There didn't seem to be any room for him to insert his mouth - he didn't seem to have any room to talk.

　We passed through a wooded area surrounded by palm trees and arrived at an open oasis.
　As Patrick had said, it's a quiet, unpopular space.
　More than half of it is a lake, and it's all over the place.

'Hmm, Patrick? .....

　Patrick unpacked as soon as he arrived and took out the forbidden book he had seen sometime ago.
　He began to draw a large circle on the ground.

'A magic circle. We'll use a double magic circle this time to stabilize the magic.
A double magic circle? I've never heard the word before.
''The magic circle promotes magical stability. But in the case of summoning a spirit, well, maybe I should say my case, but there is a possibility of a magic runaway before I summon it. So, I'll use a combination of the magic circle constructed with magic power and this magic circle drawn on the ground.
''Well you know a lot of things. I didn't even know the concept of a magic circle.
Are you kidding me?
I didn't know what it meant.

　When I said that, Patrick didn't seem to believe me much.
　I've been using magic sensibly and exercising it as a result, so I never thought about the patterns that occasionally appear on the ground.
　They were a different color or something like that, and I didn't even care about their role--.



　By the time Patrick had finished writing the magic circle, the sky was completely dark.
　After lighting torches evenly spaced around the magic circle, we were only allowed to help lay out the last of the ingredients we had bought.

　Patrick sprinkled the salt.

'We're all set!'
So where do we go from here?
That's about it...

　Then Patrick slurred his words--

'Do you want to lend me your magic power?'

　Patrick says something like that just before he gets there.

''I mean, I want to use Nito's magic power to call up spirits. It was written that the vast amount of magic power that is the base of the base can summon higher-ranking spirits.
'But is that a good idea?　You're Patrick's genie, isn't that cheating?
There was no note about that.

　From Patrick's words and actions, I thought I understood why this was a forbidden book.
　Sierra had told me once that when a creature is tortured and crippled, just before it dies, its magical core is awakened and produces a vast amount of magical power.
　If the forbidden book leaks out, the number of disappearances could increase.
　Furthermore, according to Patrick, the power of the spirits is powerful.

"Listen, Nito. "Listen, Nito, I'll pour blood on the magic circle first. Then you can supply the magicians with magic immediately. I'll give you the signal.
Okay.

　Patrick took out a small knife.

'Then let's go.'

　I cut my fingertips thinly.
　As the blood seeped out, it slowly dripped and fell into the magic circle.

''--Now!

　The magic circle glowed and sent the magic into the air as instructed.
　I tried the usual feeling of activating magic, and it worked the first time.

'So this is how it works!

　The wind blowing up into the sky from the magic circle made it difficult for his voice to pass through.

'Oh, just keep going!

　I kneaded and infused more magic into it.
　Patrick was a greedy man.
　He demanded even more magic power.
　So, right above the magic circle drawn on the ground, another magic circle appeared.

'This is a double magic circle!

　The magic circle on the ground glows white.
　The magic circle directly above blazed red and slowly descended to the ground.
　They gradually overlapped each other and eventually intersected as a single magic circle--.

''Okay, cut it off once!

　I shut off the supply as I was told.
　At that moment, the flames that had been burning on the ground turned blue and blew up as a pillar of fire.

''Se-Successful........''

　The expression on Patrick's face as he stands there stunned like that gradually changes to joy.

''This is the fire spirit ... the salamander.

　A blue pillar of fire scattered to the surroundings.
　It had already appeared--.

"This is the spirit........

　It was a glamorous woman.
　She wore jaloused jewelry around her waist and chest, and she was dressed in light, revealing Arabian-style clothing.
　Blue flames danced around her.

'Is it you who called me?'

　The spirit asked Patrick.

'Yeah, yeah. I called...
Really, I don't think you could call me?

　It's completely obvious.
　The woman smiled thinly, turned away from Patrick and looked at me.

'If there's any possibility, it's you. But I can smell a bit of danger coming from you.

　The wan smile on Patrick's face has turned into a mysterious one by the time she turns to me.
　She stared at me as if she were watching.

"Patrick, get this guy signed up.

　That's what we're here for.
　I don't have to deal with this guy's condescending smile.

'A deal?　No way, you're going to make a contract with me, this spirit king!
What, the Spirit King?

　Patrick wrinkled his brow.
　'What's the Spirit King, I've never heard the term before.

'Did you summon it without knowing it?　No, you didn't summon him, did he?

　The Spirit King looked at me, and it was still divine.
　It's different from Patrick's, I also feel a sense of contempt.
　What the hell did I do, I don't know what it means.

'I am the Spirit King Salamander. How could I possibly make a contract with a small, impotent wizard like you?

　All spirits are so cocky.
　But if you don't make a contract with Patrick, there's no point in calling him up.

'Patrick, you know how to make a contract, don't you?
'Yeah, but I can't use this one. I'm not powerful enough, too different...
I'm going home. Don't call me up again, phew, and you should be thankful you're not killed.
Fire!

　Suddenly, Patrick sent fire at her.
　But the fireball bursts off when it hits the spirit and flies away.

"...What do you mean?
I'm begging you, please, make a deal with me, I need it, I need the power of the spirit!
I have the right to choose, even if you say I have to, do you understand?

　Patrick cut his index finger lightly with his knife.
　He pointed his blood dripping finger at the genie.

'I know I'm powerless. I know I'm not good enough, but I need you now. There's no other way. Please, please make a deal with me, please!
'I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm signing you up. Not when you're on your knees and pleading.

　The genie did not recognize Patrick.

''-- ''The Binding One, Diez-Obrigadio!

　I released my magic without hesitation.
　Numerous white slender arms shot out from the ground and restrained the spirit.

''Hey, what the hell is this........Ha, let go!''

　Numerous white, translucent arms grabbed her hands, arms, legs, neck, and head.
　They also wrapped around her lower body, waist and chest, and she could no longer do anything but breathe.
　I don't know if the spirits breathe.

　This is a reversal of the magic 《Flight (Fly)》.
　The effect, as you can see, completely restricts the target.

''Nit........this is.......''

　Patrick was at a loss for words.
　But I have to do it.



"Patrick, make a deal. If you can't make a deal with this guy, you'll always be a fool to everyone around you, is that what you want?

　Masamune is unaware that his actions are inherently against his will.
　He is trying to force a contract on the Spirit King.
　It will be completed by having the blood of the would-be master taken into the spirits.

''Let go!''

　The Spirit King was caught in countless arms and unable to move.

''Patrick........''

　Patrick was confused.
　It was because Masamune's actions had gone too far.

''...Okay.''

　When Patrick doesn't respond, Masamune decides to change his ways.
　He was confused, and when he asked him how to make the spirit contract, he grabbed his bleeding finger to lend him a finger.

'Spirit King, lick this guy's blood.
'Huh!　Don't be ridiculous, why do I have to be such a person and--
Lick it.

　Masamune's left eye glows.
　He didn't notice it.
　But the Spirit King saw that eye clearly.

''Those eyes........no way, you are the Abyss'.......''
Well, just a little. If you do anything the least bit crazy, I'll kill you in that moment.
Hey, wait! ...I'm........
I can't argue with that. Patrick is going to sign you up now. You may be inexperienced now, but you should be able to handle it in time.
I won't admit...
Then I'll have to kill you.

　The Spirit King shook his lips and turned away from Masamune.

'Choose. Contract or die here.

　Masamune waited for a response with a blank expression.
　At times he slowly increased the restraining force and applied pressure.

'I'll make a contract ... I'll do it.

Good call. You're alive.

　Masamune brought Patrick's bloodied finger close to the Spirit King's mouth.
　She nipped the finger, expressing rejection in her expression.
　Her body began to glow.
　It became a particle and entered Patrick's body.

''This is........''

　Patrick checked himself.
　He looked puzzled.

'Success?'
I don't know.

　Patrick was a little afraid of Masamune.
　Because he asked flatly.

'It's hardly a success it's useless if she can't lend me her power. Even if she did lend it to me, if I can't handle it, it's still useless.''
This is just the beginning. We'll be stronger from now on. You have a spirit in you, it's a spirit king. It's a spirit worthy of a prince, we can gradually learn to use it from now on.

...Yeah. Right.

　Patrick could not rejoice.
　But for Masamune now, this was not a forceful measure, but a natural one.